20236
GRIEVES, Michael Alexander
| Service Number: | 73 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | 1897, place not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Laborer |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 9 Jun 1916: | Involvement Private, 73, 43rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Afric embarkation_ship_number: A19 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Jun 1916: | Embarked Private, 73, 43rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Afric, Adelaide | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement Private, 73, 10th Infantry Battalion | |
| Date unknown: | Wounded 73, 10th Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour Michael Alexander Grieves's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by St Ignatius' College
Born in Wilcannia, New South Wales just before the start of the 20th century, Michael Alexander, and his sister, R. A. Grieves, were raised by their mother, Mary Agnes Grieves. Michael Grieves grew up doing labour work with farm animals, especially shearing sheep as a job that he laid out for the rest of his life. He had blue eyes and was slightly short for his age and had faith in Roman Catholicism.
After the begining of World War One, like the many other young men of his time, Michael legally enlisted in the early second year of the war. Starting with propositions over his chosen battalion, he was deported to the Morphettville Camp under the 43rd Australian Imperial Forces (AIF) Battalion. He was deployed to France where he was then moved to the 10th AIF Battalion. Before Michael was in battle, he was vaguely fed up with his services as he was late to some role calls and was even recorded as escaping a detention compound. Michael moved between France and England, and completed the role of foot soldier who wielded small weaponry. A year after his enlistment, Michael was wounded to the head by a gunshot but fortunately, he was discharged only after a week in the hospital. Michael apart from his many trips to the hospital had many times where he was sent to a detention compound including one where he spent a two-month sentence in court.
Michael had kept contact with his mother during the war but sometime after the war ended, he was shut out from communications. Mary Grieves had tried a couple of attempts to find out about her son’s whereabouts but only receive small details about him. Finally, after his return to Australia, Michael continued in his labourer job and did not contribute anymore towards the army. He eventually got married and had two children with specified names as Robert and S. (Singleton) Grieves. Michael spent his life working and looking after his family until the age of 53, when he, unfortunately, passed away due to natural causes. He was buried three days later at a Catholic Cemetery where his grave was officiated by Father J. Shannon.