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 decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

, 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. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

forces.

Early life

Born in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, a suburb of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

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

Caulfield Grammar School Caulfield Grammar School is a private, co-educational, Anglican, International Baccalaureate, day and boarding school, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1881 as a boys' school, Caulfield Grammar began admitting girls exactly ...

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 (; , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), 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 fi� ...

, Bois-Grenier, L'Epinette, Ploegsteert Wood, Messines, La Basse Ville, and

Warneton Warneton (; ) 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, southea ...

. 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 largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

'' 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 and double pneumonia, he was invalided to Australia in May 1918. On 7 August, at Scots Church, Sydney, 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 a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

. 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 (state), Victoria, Australia, located in Kings Domain on St Kilda Road. It was built to honour the men and women of Victoria who served in ...

, 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 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 f ...

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 Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

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 two VC recipients. However, descendants of both Grieve families have been in contact with each other and concluded no such relationship existed.Anthony Staunton. ‘A South Australian treasure: The VC to Sergeant Major John Grieve’,

Sabretache A sabretache (derived from ) 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 bag called a ''tars ...

, 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