Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

James Augustus Croger was born in 1893 at Islington, London. He was the second of 5 children born to Richard and Annie Croger, fishmongers at 499 Hornsey Road in Upper Holloway, North London. There was a boy next door also called James so from a very early age, James Croger was always called Gus.

By the age of 17, Gus was still living with his parents and was employed as a clerk at the Railway Clearing House, an organisation which co-ordinated the operations and fare collections of the various railway companies operating in Britain at the time.

In September 1912, at the age of 18, Gus and his older brother Dick  moved to Australia. This was a major event in the family’s history.

The family tradition is that they were sponsored by Bob Fisher, a cousin from England who now had a farm near Renmark in South Australia, about 200 km north-east of Adelaide. Dick and Gus were indeed listed as “farm hands” on the ship’s passenger list, despite their distinctly clerical employment in London. The farming didn’t work out and they moved to Adelaide.

Within 2 years of Gus arriving in Australia, the First World War had broken out. When Gus was born, Australia was simply a collection of 6 separate British colonies. The colonies federated to become the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901 and in August 1914, the new nation was at war. Gus enlisted on 19 October. He was now a private in the Australian Imperial Force.

Gus embarked on the troopship “Ceramic” in December and arrived in Egypt in February 1915. He served at Gallipoli, now commemorated as Australia’s most famous military engagement. He received a shrapnel wound and was evacuated to hospital in Egypt.

The following year, he was promoted to sergeant and transferred to the western front in France. He was in and out of hospital with fever for the first few months and subsequently diagnosed with malaria. As a result, he missed some of the worst slaughter at the Somme. In June 1917, he was wounded at the Battle of Messines in Belgium. He spent the next 6 months in England including a time in hospital. He returned to the front in December.

His war ended in October 1918 when he embarked from Taranto in Italy on the troopship “Kasir a Hind” for the voyage back to Australia. Gus never spoke to his family about his war experiences but he marched each year in the ANZAC parades which commemorated the Gallipoli campaign and Australia’s other military engagements.

He settled back into civilian life in Adelaide. In 1925 he married Ruby Blewett and they made their home at Rose Terrace in the inner city suburb of Wayville. They had 2 sons: Deane and Brian.

Gus was initially employed by TJ Richards, an Adelaide coach building firm that was a pioneer business in Australia’s motor industry. Gus later worked for Lumley insurance where he became Claims Manager.

Brian remembers a happy domestic life in Rose Terrace. Gus was a keen vegetable gardener. There were family sing songs each week with Gus often playing the piano. In January, the family would holiday at Victor Harbour. During the year, there were “chop picnics” (barbeques in today’s language) in the Adelaide Hills.

In 1939, there was war again. This time, Gus joined the Volunteer Defence Corps which was equivalent to Britain’s Home Guard. An air raid shelter was built in the back yard. And every night, the family gathered around the wireless set to hear the latest war news. 

Throughout his life, Gus was an accomplished sportsman. As a young man in London, he had swum competitively. During his time as a soldier in France, he entered swimming competitions and won a trophy.

Gus was a skilled soccer player. He played for the Sturt Club, as did his brother Dick. Newspaper reports of matches would sometimes mention the exploits of the Croger brothers. Gus was later involved in soccer administration and was made a life member of South Australia’s Football Federation. He also played tennis. In later life, he played lawn bowls.

In the 1950s, Deane and Brian married and raised their own families in the Adelaide Hills.

Ruby died in 1962. Gus sold the house in Rose Terrace and re-married – Millie Mehaffey-King. Millie died in 1978 and Gus died in 1982.