Death of Signal Mirror pioneer: Malcolm Murray

Some may have ordered "Rescue Reflectors" signal mirrors from Malcolm Murray ( they were included in the "Doug Ritter Aviator Survival Paks™"), or may have read his signal mirror articles.

Malcolm Murray died on 12/17/2015. (Malcolm's obituary)

The pertinence to this forum is that Malcolm invented and sold signal mirrors for about 50 years (he was over 80 when health concerns led him to sell his signal mirror business).

I corresponded with Malcolm on the history, design and testing of signal mirrors, spoke with him on the phone, and flew to his signal mirror factory to photograph his signal mirror collection. I purchased one of each of his six models he made at the time for my collection, even though I had to wait nearly a year for delivery.

Malcolm G. Murray (1930-2015) began his work in signal mirrors after fruitlessly searching in a plane for his friend's father, a fisherman who drifted to his death when his outboard motor failed in the late 1950s. Malcolm developed his own signal mirror using a retroreflective aimer flap like WWII US Navy pilot signal mirrors, and distributed hundreds below cost to fishermen in Aruba, several of whom were saved by them. Later he figured out how to make retroreflective mesh, and used that ever since. Side by side photo: flap vs. mesh

Early signal mirrors

Malcolm's later signal mirrors can be viewed on his website (below), but here is a Flickr gallery of his earlier mirrors made in Aruba: Malcolm's early signal mirror designs (click on each thumbnail in the gallery for larger versions, discussion and links).

Signal Mirror Patents

Malcolm patented two of his signal mirror designs: US 3,335,693 (1967) and US 5,777,810(1998) Malcolm sold his signal mirrors in later years under the business name "Rescue Reflectors".

Signal Mirror Articles

Here are three Malcolm Murray signal mirror articles available on the Web:

(1) Malcolm Murray, "Aimable Air/Sea Rescue Mirrors", The Bent of Tau Beta Pi, Fall 2004, pp. 29-32

(2) Malcolm Murray, "Outdoor Smarts: The Signal Mirror: A Low-Tech Lifesaver", Scouting, March-April 2001, pp. 44-45
(this article quotes Douglas Ritter and gives the link to this website)

{ Reader comment on CDs as signal mirrors and Malcolm's response in the Oct 2001 issue of Scouting}

(2) Malcolm's letter to the Wall Street Journal

Malcolm's Autobiography & Biography:

(1) A short autobiography of Malcolm Murray may be found on pp. 488-495 of the book "The Lago Colony Legend",
which describes his signal mirror work on pp. 491-492.

The section with Malcolm's story is in Part V (online).

(2) A short bio of Malcolm appears on p. 32 of his 2004 article

(3) Malcolm's obituary includes a bio, of course:

Malcolm's web site as it appeared in Nov 2011

Home Page: (including links to ETS and signal mirror page)
Signal Mirror Page
Signal Mirror Specifications

Great information on a true pioneer in the field. His work undoubtedly saved many lives.

Thanks for posting that. While not unexpected, it is sad to receive the news.

Malcolm was one-of-a-kind. A genius on many levels, what set him part was just how much he cared. The personal effort he put into every signal mirror he made was amazing.

I spent a week at one point with Malcolm and he walked me through the making of his signal mirrors. While premium priced, the mirrors he produced probably earned him wages of pennies an hour, but he didn't concern himself with that. He simply wanted to produce the world's best signal mirrors in hopes of saving lives.

He was generous to a fault and shared his knowledge freely with anyone who expressed an interest. When we started work to develop what became the Rescue Flash signal mirror for Adventure Medical Kits for my PSP, he was happy to offer advice, even while disappointed we couldn't possibly use his own mirrors which cost more than the PSP did at the time. :-)

He will be missed.