B: 5th September, 1917 – Moonta, South Australia
Eldest son in a family of six children, Alan was named for his uncle, Alan John Murn, an officer who served in WW1. All three sons of Cecil and Susannah Murn served in WW2.
Alan began his service in the A.I.F and then moved to the R. A. A. F. where, as he was 6ft (183cm) tall, he acquired the nickname Lofty. His war service wasn’t all that was on his mind, as in 1943 he married Mavis Joyce Pyle in an event described in some detail here . There were no children from this marriage.
His brother Donald had also sought to fly with the Air Force and was killed in a training accident in Canada in late 1943. Adding to his family’s distress, Colin had been seriously wounded in the Siege of Tobruk.
Family circumstances meant Alan was taken out of active service and placed on Air Force Reserve where he was seconded to and employed by Department of Civil Aviation to fly civilian domestic air service for Australian National Airlines (A.N.A.).
Highly regarded in his community and dearly loved by his family, his funeral and burial were recorded here and an obituary here gives more detail of his service with A.N.A.
National Archives of Australia: Service Records (Army)
National Archives of Australia: Service Records (Airforce)
The information and images on this page have been provided by Susan Murn and have been published with permission.
The Stinson Memorial 