GRAY, Horace Melbourne
| Service Number: | WX10820 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 15 January 1941 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/16th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Geraldton, Western Australia, 23 October 1920 |
| Home Town: | Naraling, Chapman Valley, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Naraling Primary School, Chapman Valley - Western Australia, Australia |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Papua, 8 September 1942, aged 21 years |
| Cemetery: |
Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery, Papua New Guinea Grave B3.A.5 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Nabawa Upper Chapman Road Board District WW2 Honour Roll |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Private, WX10820 | |
|---|---|---|
| 15 Jan 1941: | Involvement Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, WX10820, 2nd/16th Infantry Battalion, Middle East / Mediterranean Theatre, Mel fought at Mersa Matruh in Egypt, Syria and Lebanon before he was deployed to New Guinea. | |
| 15 Jan 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, WX10820, 2nd/16th Infantry Battalion | |
| 3 Jan 1942: | Involvement Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Pata (PNG - Private), WX10820, 2nd/16th Infantry Battalion, Kokoda - Papua, Mel was posted to the Middle East and fought at Mersa Matruh, Syria and Lebanon. In January 1942 he sailed from Egypt to Adelaide and then to Port Moresby. He was killed in action on Mission Ridge on the Kokoda Track in the Owen Stanley Mountains in new Guinea. | |
| 8 Sep 1942: | Wounded Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, WX10820, Kokoda - Papua, Killed in Action |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Nola Holt
Horace Melbourne Gray (Mel) was one of two sons and two daughters born to Edith Mary Criddle (1898-1968) and Edward Maitland Gray (1887-1930) of Naraling in the Chapman Valley near Geraldton, Western Australia.
Mel's father, Edward Maitland Gray, died when he was 9 years old. Mel's mother, Edie, worked their farm for a while and then sold it. The family moved to the Naraling store as owners where Edie ran the general store. When his mother sold the store they moved to Geraldton. Here Mel played football for Brigades in the Geraldton competition.
In 1938 Mel joined the Reserves, serving in the 11th Battalion Militia, B company when he was 18 years old. He transferred to the Australian Army (WX10820) in early January 1940 enlisting at Claremont, WA. He embarked from Fremantle on the US 13 Convoy on 7 November 1941 and sailed to Egypt on his way to Palestine. On the 19th of January 1942, he was taken on strength and joined the 2/16 Battalion. Within 10 days, on the 29 January 1942, he was on his way back to Australia on the ship, Kosciusko. He was able to see his family in Geraldton on 25 May 1942. He was then sent to Brisbane and then to Papua New Guinea. He was listed as missing in action on 8th September 1942, and later confirmed as Killed in Action on that day fighting on Brigade Hill on the Kokoda Track. He is buried in the Port Moresby Bomana War Cemetery.Grave reference B3. A.5.
Notes taken from Paul Gray's article.
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