William Charles Scurry, (30 October 1895 – 28 December 1963) was an Australian soldier who invented the self-firing "drip rifle" while serving as a private in the Gallipoli campaign during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He was decorated for his invention and was later commissioned and served as an

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

during the fighting on the Western Front, where he commanded a mortar battery before being wounded in action. In later life Scurry worked as an architectural modeller and orchardist before his war injuries forced him to retire. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, 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.

Early life

Scurry was born in Carlton,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, to William Charles Scurry, an architectural modeller, and his English wife, Bessie Scurry (née Preston). He attended Ascot Vale State School before working for his father's firm. As part of the compulsory training scheme he served in the Senior Cadets before progressing on to the Citizens Forces in 1913 where he served as a colour sergeant before being commissioned as a second lieutenant in May 1914 and assigned to the 58th Infantry (Essendon Rifles).

First World War

Following the outbreak of the

, Scurry relinquished his commission and enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in 1915 as a private. Assigned to the 7th Battalion, he was sent to join the battalion at Gallipoli in November 1915 and was promoted to

lance corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO), usually equi ...

in December. Shortly after his arrival, the Allies decided to evacuate the peninsula and Scurry, along with his friend Alfred 'Bunty' Lawrence developed the self-firing rifle which worked simply by having water from one

bully beef Bully beef (also known as corned beef in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Indonesia and other Commonwealth countries as well as the United States) is a variety of meat made from finely minced corned beef in a small amount of ge ...

tin drip into a lower tin. When the water in the lower tin, which was attached to the trigger of the rifle, reached a certain weight, the rifle was fired. This ruse led to the Turkish defenders to believe that there were still troops opposing them while they were being evacuated. For his invention, Scurry was awarded the

Distinguished Conduct Medal The Distinguished Conduct Medal was a decoration established in 1854 by Queen Victoria for gallantry in the field by other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military decoration, ranki ...

and Mentioned in Despatches. Following the evacuation, after the AIF had returned to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

, Scurry was promoted to sergeant and then later, on 20 February 1916, was again commissioned as a second lieutenant. At this time the AIF underwent a period of expansion and experienced men were needed as cadre for new battalions that were being raised; subsequently Scurry was transferred to the 58th Battalion and in June, as his battalion was deployed to France where they would serve in the trenches along the Western Front, Scurry was promoted to lieutenant. 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 Edward Elliott, who had been his battalion commander at Gallipoli, and promoted to temporary captain. For his leadership of this battery, he was later awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

. In 1916, when in Petillon, France, he was badly wounded 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 at I Anzac Corps School at Aveluy in June 1917. He later became the School's chief instructor, before returning to the front in 1918.

Later life

Following The Armistice, Scurry returned to Australia in 1919 and became engaged to Doris Barry, an Army nurse he met while in France. The couple were married in 1920 and later had four children. He returned to his father's firm, however, in 1923 as his vision failed he was forced to give up working as an architectural modeller. He subsequently moved to Silvan where he became an orchardist before his injury forced him to give up this work also. During the

, Scurry re-enlisted in the Army on 5 September 1940 and served with the 17th Garrison Battalion with the rank of captain, before later taking up the post of commandant of the Tatura Internment Camp, then with the rank of major. He was discharged on 8 October 1945 and retired to

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

, where he died on 28 December 1963 of a coronary occlusion. He was later interred at Lilydale cemetery.

Notes

References

* * . * . * . {{DEFAULTSORT:Scurry, William 1895 births 1963 deaths Australian military personnel of World War I Australian Army soldiers Gallipoli campaign Australian recipients of the Military Cross Australian recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal 20th-century Australian inventors Australian orchardists People from Carlton, Victoria Military personnel from Melbourne Australian people of English descent