The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (400321) Pilot Officer Gerald Ross Gregory, No. 215 Squadron, RAF World War

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Gerard Pratt, the story for this day was on (400321) Pilot Officer Gerald Ross Gregory, No. 215 Squadron, RAF World War.

400321 Pilot Officer Gerald Ross Gregory, No. 215 Squadron, RAF
KIA 10 June 1942
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 18 November 2014

Today we remember and pay tribute to Pilot Officer Gerald Ross Gregory.

Gerald Gregory was born on 27 February 1916 to Arthur and Olive Gregory at Mount Wire Private Hospital in Malvern, Victoria. He grew up in Caulfield and from an early age loved the game of cricket. As a boy he would play backyard games with his cousin and friends on a pitch that his father had made. By the age of nine Gregory had started playing competitive cricket, and as he progressed he began to make a name for himself as a good right-hand batsman and spin bowler.

He attended Gardenvale State School and was a popular student. His gentlemanly attitude and immaculate sense of dress stood him in good stead among his peers. He was also described as having a good, mischievous sense of humour.

Gregory was a good student and would eventually become a qualified accountant. He represented the school’s cricket team, and by 15 had twice been selected to play for the Victorian schoolboys’ team. He was also captain of Gardenvale State School’s cricket team, which won the premiership in 1930.

In 1931 Gregory was enrolled at Wesley College in Prahran. He continued to excel in his chosen sport and was soon representing the school’s first 11. He was also a gifted rower, and in the winter represented Wesley’s senior Australian Rules football side.

He played cricket for Victoria in 1934, the beginning of a successful first-class career. In 1937 he was called up to play for Australia in the 1936/37 Ashes series. With the series standing at 2–1 in favour of England, Gregory made his test debut for Australia playing alongside greats such as Don Bradman, Bert Oldfield, and Stan McCabe in the 4th Test against England at the Adelaide Oval. He acquitted himself well and Australia levelled the series.

Gregory played for Victoria in their win against South Australia in the Sheffield Shield Final. In the 5th Test he again represented Australia, this time on his home ground of the MCG. He made 80 in his only innings of the match as Australia routed England to win the game outright and the series 3–2. It was the last time he would play for Australia, but he continued to play for Victoria and his club side, St Kilda.

Gregory enlisted for service with the Royal Australian Air Force on 18 August 1940. After his initial training, he was selected to become a navigator. Following further training, he embarked from Sydney bound for England aboard the transport ship Awatea in June 1941.

On arriving in England at the end of July Gregory underwent some months of training in Scotland before finally being posted to No. 99 Squadron RAF, which flew Vickers Wellingtons. Gregory took part in his first operation in December, when his crew was selected to take part in a bombing raid on Le Havre, France. Over the next two months he took part in several more operations over Germany and Norway.

In February 1942 Gregory was transferred to No. 215 Squadron, which was preparing to move to India for operations against the Japanese. He was commissioned with the rank of pilot officer just prior to his departure from England.

On 10 June Gregory and his crew flew out of Calcutta with other aircraft of No. 215 Squadron to bomb targets in Burma. As the aircraft flew across the region of Bengal, Gregory’s aircraft crashed, killing all on board. He was 26 years old.

Witnesses on the ground stated that the aircraft was trailing smoke before it disintegrated in mid-air, scattering the aircraft and crew over a wide area. Locals did their best to retrieve and bury the bodies of the crew in a communal grave near where the crash had occurred.

The graves of Gregory and his comrades were lost soon after their burial when floods washed through the area, obliterating any sign of the crew’s final resting place. Today he is commemorated on the Singapore Memorial in Kranji War Cemetery.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left along with some 40,000 others from the Second World War.

This is but one of the many stories of courage and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Pilot Officer Gerald Ross Gregory, and all of those Australians who have given their lives in service of our nation.

Michael Kelly
Historian, Military History Section