Robert Cuthbert Grieve, VC (19 June 1889 – 4 October 1957) was an Australian recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

, the highest award for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to British and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

forces.

Early life

Born in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, a suburb of

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 John and Annie Deas Grieve (née Brown), Grieve was educated at

Caulfield Grammar School Caulfield Grammar School is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican, International Baccalaureate, day school, day and boarding school, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1881 as ...

and then Wesley College. He became an interstate commercial traveller in the softgoods trade.

First World War

After nine months service in the Victorian Rangers, he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force as a private on 9 June 1915. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 37th Battalion in January 1916, was promoted to lieutenant in May 1916, and after training in England, was promoted to captain in France in February 1917. In France he served at

Armentières Armentières (; vls, Armentiers) is a commune in the Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. The motto of the town is ''Pauvre mais fière'' (Poor but proud). Geogra ...

Bois-Grenier Bois-Grenier () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Located south of Armentières and bordering with the department of Pas-de-Calais. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a ...

, L'Epinette,

Ploegsteert Wood Ploegsteert Wood was a sector of the Western Front in Flanders in World War I, part of the Ypres Salient. It is located around the Belgian village of Ploegsteert, Wallonia. After fierce fighting in late 1914 and early 1915, Ploegsteert Wood bec ...

, Messines, La Basse Ville, and

Warneton Warneton (; nl, Waasten) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. Bounding communes and places *Warneton, Belgium (part of Comines-Warneton) * Comines, east *Quesnoy-sur-Deûle ...

. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions at Messines. The announcement and accompanying citation for the award was published in a supplement to the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

'' of 31 July 1917, reading: Severely wounded in the shoulder by a sniper's bullet, Grieve was evacuated to England, and on recovery returned to his unit in October. However, due to subsequently suffering acute

trench nephritis Trench nephritis, also known as war nephritis, is a kidney infection, first recognised by medical officers as a new disease during the early part of the First World War and distinguished from the then-understood acute nephritis by also having bron ...

and double pneumonia, he was invalided to Australia in May 1918. On 7 August, at

Scots Church, Sydney The Scots Church is a historic Presbyterian church located at 42–44 Margaret Street on the corner of York Street, in the Sydney central business district, in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was design ...

, he married Sister May Isabel Bowman of the Australian Army Nursing Service who had nursed him during his illness.

Post-war

Post-war he held the rank of captain in the

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

. He established the business of Grieve, Gardner & Co., soft-goods warehousemen, in Flinders Lane, Melbourne, and was managing director until 4 October 1957 when he died of cardiac failure. He was buried with military honours in Springvale cemetery. Grieve's medal was presented by his family to Wesley College in 1959, and has been lent to the

Shrine of Remembrance The Shrine of Remembrance (commonly referred to as The Shrine) is a war memorial in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located in Kings Domain on St Kilda Road. It was built to honour the men and women of Victoria who served in World War I, but ...

, where it is on permanent display. Grieve was an active supporter of Wesley College for many years and contributed towards an annual scholarship. A home room at Wesley College is named in his honour as well as a 'Grieve Way' a street in Wodonga, Victoria.

Family

A son, Robert Henderson "Bob" Grieve (30 November 1924 – 15 December 2006) was a noted artist and president of the Victorian branch of the

Contemporary Art Society The Contemporary Art Society (CAS) is an independent charity that champions the collecting of outstanding contemporary art and craft for UK museum collections. Since its founding in 1910 the organisation has donated over 10,000 works to museums ...

from 1967 to 1987.

Relation to John Grieve

A number of references including the 1997 edition of

The Register of the Victoria Cross ''The Register of the Victoria Cross'' is a reference work that provides brief information on every Victoria Cross awarded until the publication date. Each entry provides a summary of the deed, along with a photograph of the recipient and the fol ...

list Sergeant Major John Grieve VC (Crimea, 1854) and Captain Robert Cuthbert Grieve (Belgium, 1917) as great uncle and great nephew. This connection was suggested by an article in

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

on 29 May 1964. The article said John Grieve sent home £75 from the Crimea to Robert Grieve and that if Robert Grieve was his brother and also emigrated, then some relationship may be established between the Crimean VC and an Australian First World War VC, Robert Grieve. However, descendants of both Grieve families have been in contact with each other and have found that they are not great uncle and great nephew.Anthony Staunton. ‘A South Australian treasure: The VC to Sergeant Major John Grieve’,

Sabretache A sabretache (derived from german: Säbeltasche) is a flat bag or pouch, which was worn suspended from the belt of a cavalry soldier together with the sabre. Origins The sabretache is derived from a traditional Hungarian horseman's flat leather ...

, the journal of the Military Historical Society of Australia, Vol XLVII No. 3 September 2006, pages 31 to 34. download at https://www.mhsa.org.au/download/sabretache-vol-xlvii-no-3-september-2006/

References

External links

*Darryl McIntyre
'Grieve, Robert Cuthbert (1889–1957)'

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

, Volume 9, Melbourne University Press, 1983, pp 106–107.
Robert Cuthbert GRIEVE
AIF Project, adfa.edu.au {{DEFAULTSORT:Grieve, Robert Cuthbert 1889 births 1957 deaths Australian World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross People educated at Caulfield Grammar School Australian Army officers Military personnel from Melbourne People educated at Wesley College (Victoria) People from Brighton, Victoria