William Scurry | |
|---|---|
 William Scurry, c. 1919 | |
| Born | (1895-10-30)30 October 1895 Carlton, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 28 December 1963(1963-12-28) (aged 68) Croydon, Victoria, Australia |
| Allegiance | Australia |
| Branch | Australian Army |
| Service years | 1913–1919 1940–1945 |
| Rank | Major |
| Conflicts | |
| Awards | Military Cross Distinguished Conduct Medal Mentioned in Despatches |
William Charles Scurry,MC, DCM (30 October 1895 – 28 December 1963) was an Australian soldier who invented the self-firing "drip rifle" while serving as aprivate in theGallipoli campaign during theFirst World War.[1][2] He was decorated for his invention and was later commissioned and served as anofficer during the fighting on theWestern Front, where he commanded amortarbattery before being wounded in action.[3][4]
In later life Scurry worked as an architectural modeller andorchardist before his war injuries forced him to retire. During theSecond World War, he served on home service, as commandant of an internment camp before retiring to civilian life following the end of the war. He died in 1963.[5][6]
Scurry was born inCarlton,Melbourne, to William Charles Scurry, an architectural modeller, and his English wife, Bessie Scurry (née Preston).[3] He attended Ascot Vale State School before working for his father's firm. As part of thecompulsory training scheme he served in the Senior Cadets before progressing on to theCitizens Forces in 1913 where he served as acolour sergeant before beingcommissioned as asecond lieutenant in May 1914 and assigned to the 58th Infantry (Essendon Rifles).[3]
Following the outbreak of theFirst World War, Scurry relinquished his commission and enlisted in theAustralian Imperial Force in 1915 as aprivate. Assigned to the7th Battalion, he was sent to join the battalion atGallipoli in November 1915 and was promoted tolance corporal in December.[3] Shortly after his arrival, theAllies decided toevacuate the peninsula; Scurry and his friend Alfred 'Bunty' Lawrence[7] developed the self-firing "drip" rifle, which worked simply by having water from an empty ration tin drip into a lower tin attached to the trigger of a loaded rifle. When it was time to evacuate a small hole would be punched in the bottom of the uppermost tin. When the water in the lower tin reached a certain weight the rifle fired.[2] This ruse led the Turkish defenders to believe that there were still troops fighting them while they were actually vulnerable to attack, being evacuated.[3]
For his invention, Scurry was awarded theDistinguished Conduct Medal[8] andMentioned in Despatches.[3][9] Following the evacuation, after the AIF had returned toEgypt, Scurry was promoted tosergeant, and on 20 February 1916 to second lieutenant. At this time the AIF underwent a period of expansion[10] and experienced men were needed ascadre for new battalions that were being raised; subsequently Scurry was transferred to the58th Battalion, and in June, as his battalion was deployed to France where they would serve in the trenches along theWestern Front, Scurry was promoted to lieutenant.[3]
Shortly after arriving in France, he was placed in command of the 15th Light Trench Mortar Battery on specific request of his brigade commander,Harold Elliott, who had been his battalion commander at Gallipoli, and promoted to temporarycaptain.[3] For his leadership of this battery, he was later awarded theMilitary Cross.[11] In 1916 he was badly wounded inPetillon, France, when inspecting a new kind of fuse on an unexploded bomb. He was evacuated to England and eventually lost the sight in one eye, and his right index finger. However, he continued to serve, and became an instructor atI Anzac Corps School atAveluy in June 1917. He later became the School's chief instructor, then returned to the front in 1918.[3]
Followingthe Armistice, Scurry returned to Australia in 1919 and became engaged to Doris Barry, an Army nurse he had met in France. They were married in 1920 and had four children.[3] He had to give up working as an architectural modeller as his vision failed, and returned to his father's firm in 1923.[3] He subsequently moved toSilvan where he became anorchardist, but his injury forced him to give up this work also.[3]
During theSecond World War, Scurry re-enlisted in the Army on 5 September 1940[12] and served with the 17th Garrison Battalion with the rank of captain, later becoming commandant of theTatura Internment Camp with the rank of major. He was discharged on 8 October 1945[12] and retired toCroydon, where he died on 28 December 1963 of acoronary occlusion,[3] and was interred atLilydale cemetery.[3]
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