Percival Eric GRATWICK VC

GRATWICK, Percival Eric

Service Number: WX10426
Enlisted: 20 December 1940, Claremont, Western Australia
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 2nd/48th Infantry Battalion
Born: Katanning, Western Australia, 19 October 1902
Home Town: Perth, Western Australia
Schooling: Katanning State School, Western Australia
Occupation: Gold prospector
Died: Killed in Action, Egypt, 26 October 1942, aged 40 years
Cemetery: El Alamein War Cemetery
Memorials: Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Keith Payne VC Memorial Park, Kojonup Apex Park Private Percival Gratwick V.C. Commemoration Way, North Bondi War Memorial, Port Hedland Private Percival Gratwick V.C. Memorial Aquatic Centre
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World War 2 Service

20 Dec 1940: Enlisted Private, WX10426, Claremont, Western Australia
20 Dec 1940: Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, WX10426, 2nd/48th Infantry Battalion
21 Dec 1940: Involvement Private, WX10426
26 Oct 1942: Involvement Private, WX10426, 2nd/48th Infantry Battalion, El Alamein

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Biography contributed by Robert Kearney

Gratwick, Percival Eric (1902–1942)
by Bill Gammage

Percival Eric Gratwick, soldier and prospector, was born on 19 October 1902 at Katanning, Western Australia, fifth son of native-born parents Ernest Albert Gratwick, postmaster, and his wife Eva Mary, née Pether. After Ernest died in 1911, the family battled to make ends meet. Percy attended state schools at Katanning, Boulder and Perth, and left school at 16. He worked in Perth, at one stage as a messenger at Parliament House, until about 1922 when he went north to the Pilbara and learned droving and blacksmithing on Indee station, 30 miles (48 km) south of Port Hedland. Then he moved to Yandeyarra station, 30 miles (48 km) further south, as a stationhand. He gradually built up a droving plant, got a team of mostly Aboriginal stockmen together, and took contracts. Stopped by drought in 1931, he turned to prospecting while employed part time on White Springs station, next to Yandeyarra. In the mid-1930s he settled at nearby Wodgina, a tantalite mine, blacksmithing, prospecting and occasionally working cattle for White Springs. He was his own man, well used to looking after himself in that tough country.

Early in World War II Gratwick tried to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force, but was rejected because his nose had been broken years before. He paid a lot of money to have it fixed, tried again, and was accepted on 20 December 1940. After training he sailed from Perth on 5 July 1941, leaving instructions that his horses not be sold or destroyed. In September he joined the 2nd/48th Battalion under siege at Tobruk, Libya. 'I'm home and pleased and proud to be able to piss in the same pot with such a fine crowd', he told his brother. A month later the 2nd/48th was sent to Palestine. In June 1942 it arrived in Egypt, and in July fought at Tel el Eisa. Gratwick was held in reserve, rejoining his battalion on 10 August. Its next battle, his first, was El Alamein.

"Percival Eric Gratwick (1902-1942), soldier and prospector, was born on 19 October 1902 at Katanning, Western Australia, fifth son of native-born parents Ernest Albert Gratwick, postmaster, and his wife Eva Mary, née Pether. After Ernest died in 1911, the family battled to make ends meet. Percy attended state schools at Katanning, Boulder and Perth, and left school at 16. He worked in Perth, at one stage as a messenger at Parliament House, until about 1922 when he went north to the Pilbara and learned droving and blacksmithing on Indee station, 30 miles (48 km) south of Port Hedland. Then he moved to Yandeyarra station, 30 miles (48 km) further south, as a stationhand. He gradually built up a droving plant, got a team of mostly Aboriginal stockmen together, and took contracts. Stopped by drought in 1931, he turned to prospecting while employed part time on White Springs station, next to Yandeyarra. In the mid-1930s he settled at nearby Wodgina, a tantalite mine, blacksmithing, prospecting and occasionally working cattle for White Springs. He was his own man, well used to looking after himself in that tough country..." - READ MORE LINK (adb.anu.edu.au)

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