Victor Carlton GRIFFIN

GRIFFIN, Victor Carlton

Service Number: 2600
Enlisted: 16 June 1915, 6 years Cadets
Last Rank: Lance Corporal
Last Unit: 3rd Infantry Battalion
Born: Granville, New South Wales, Australia, 16 April 1898
Home Town: Stanwell Park, Wollongong, New South Wales
Schooling: Sydney Technical High School, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation: Junior porter
Died: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia , 12 August 1973, aged 75 years, cause of death not yet discovered
Cemetery: Not yet discovered
Memorials: Sydney Technical High School WW1 Roll Of Honour
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World War 1 Service

16 Jun 1915: Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2600, 3rd Infantry Battalion, 6 years Cadets
9 Aug 1915: Involvement Private, 2600, 3rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Runic embarkation_ship_number: A54 public_note: ''
9 Aug 1915: Embarked Private, 2600, 3rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Runic, Sydney
22 Dec 1917: Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 3rd Infantry Battalion
11 Sep 1918: Discharged AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 2600, 3rd Infantry Battalion, Granted Cadetship in Indian army

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Biography contributed by Evan Evans

From AWM Biography

2600 Private (Pte) Victor Carlton Griffin
, 3rd Battalion, on leave after recovering from wounds received at Gallipoli, and illness. He is wearing a colour patch (probably brigade level) and machine gun qualifications badge on his right sleeve of his coat. A junior porter in civilian life, Pte Griffin put his age up to enlist and embarked with the 8th Reinforcements aboard HMAT Runic (A54) from Sydney on 16 June 1915. Following his recuperation in England, Pte Griffin rejoined his unit in Egypt before deploying to the Western Front. For a time he served with the 2nd and 5th Field Survey Companies, Royal Engineers, then returned to the 3rd Battalion, where he was appointed Lance Corporal. He discharged from the AIF on 11 September 1918 as the result of being on selection for a cadetship at the Cadet College, Quetta, India. Following training he was commissioned Second Lieutenant and posted to the 10th Gurkha Rifles, serving in the Third Afghan War in 1919. In 1922, with the rank of Lieutenant, he was posted to the 5th Mahratta Light Infantry, however after only one month, he transferred to the Royal Air Force unit in Karachi where he trained as a reconnaissance pilot and later flew reconnaissance sorties along the Afghanistan border. In 1925 Griffin was promoted to Captain and was stationed in the Sind Province, Karachi, where he married Myra Julie Rieu. During the Second World War he continued to serve with the 5th Mahratta Light Infantry. In 1941 he was Second-in-Command of the 2nd Battalion during Operation Battleaxe, an attempt to relieve the siege of Tobruk. From 1941-1942, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, he commanded the 3rd Battalion at Cyprus, then at Salum (Sollum), Egypt. Griffin remained with the 3rd Battalion as part of the Middle Eastern Forces until January 1944. He was Brigade Commander, 11th Indian Brigade, during the 4th Indian Division's involvement in the war in Italy. In 1945 he became Commanding Officer of the Mahratta Light Infantry Sub Area Regimental Centre, Sialkot, India, and in 1946 was promoted to the permanent rank of Brigadier and given command of the 5th Mahratta Light Infantry Regimental Centre, Belgaum, India. The Australian War Memorial holds a Turkish map acquired by Pte Griffin at Lone Pine (EXDOC113), a portion of a First World War trench map from France (PUB01535) and a manuscript 'Brigadier Victor Carlton Griffin 1898-1973 (MSS2039).

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