MURRAY John Berkeley

Appears in the Worcester/Worcestershire Roll of Honour Book for naval casualties located in Worcester Cathedral.

The birth of John Berkeley Murray is registered in the March Quarter 1882 under the Tenbury Registration District.

HMS Natal was an armoured cruiser of the Warrior Class.  On 30th December 1915 the ship was in Cromarty harbour near Invergordon, North of Inverness.  A fire broke out on board the ship at 3.20pm and 5 minutes later the ship was torn apart by the explosion of her after magazines.  She sank almost immediately with the loss of 421 crew and visitors, including the wives and children of several officers and 3 nursing sisters from Queen Alexander’s Royal Naval Nursing Service from the Hospital Ship Drina which was also in the harbour.  Several of the casualties died over the days following the explosion, the last one being Able Seaman Brennan who died on 16th January 1916.  There were 400 survivors including around 100 who were ashore at the time of the explosion.

The inscription on the memorial reads:
TO THE DEAR MEMORY OF
COMMANDER JOHN BERKELEY MURRAY R.N.
KILLED ON ACTIVE SERVICE IN THE EXPLOSION ON
HMS NATAL 30TH DECEMBER 1915. AGED 33.
THIRD SON OF W. BERKELEY MURRAY, M.D. (LATE OF TENBURY)
“IN SURE AND CERTAIN HOPE.”
R.I.P.