GRAY, Lancelot Bagshaw
| Service Number: | PA4051 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 7 June 1943, Port Adelaide, SA |
| Last Rank: | Able Seaman |
| Last Unit: | HMAS Ararat |
| Born: | Glenelg, SA, 11 January 1926 |
| Home Town: | Henley Beach , City of Charles Sturt / Henley and Grange, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Injuries sustained when hit by a car, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, SA, 19 October 1966, aged 40 years |
| Cemetery: |
Centennial Park Cemetery, South Australia West, Rose Bed W12 Position 31 |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 7 Jun 1943: | Enlisted Port Adelaide, SA | |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Jun 1943: | Enlisted Royal Australian Navy, Able Seaman, PA4051, HMAS Ararat | |
| 16 Sep 1946: | Discharged |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Son of Lancelot Franklin GRAY, Seaview Road, Henley Beach, SA
Born 11 January 1926 in Glenelg and was known as Jim.
Jim served in the Second World War enlisting 7 June 1943 in the Royal Australian Navy as an Able Seaman, PA4051. He was based on the Corvette Matthew Flinders. He was discharged 16 September 1946. Nina says he was nice looking and had the best legs on a man I ever saw.
The only time Lancelot visited his children was to sign the paperwork for Jim to go to war in the Navy in 1943. He just walked in and said, Hello, Ma. I always remember that. then Ma says, Hello, Lance.
Sadly, Jim was hit by a car on 10 October 1966 when standing on the roadside near the Hilton Hotel. He died in hospital 9 days later. Nina went to the inquest and that chap got awful trouble from the magistrate. Nina recalls that it was at Jim’s funeral that she met ‘the other family’ members, Lancelot’s later children, for the first time. Maureen was the only one of her stepfamily that she remembers keeping in touch with her.
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