People profiles
Captain Robert Cuthbert Grieve VC
H00038
Date of birth: 19 June 1889
Place of birth: Brighton, Melbourne, VIC
Date of death: 4 October 1957
Place of death: Melbourne, VIC
Robert Grieve won the Victoria Cross in the 37th Battalion's first big action. Firepower, clever planning, and bold action made the attack a notable success. During the action at Messines, Belgium, on 7 June 1917, Grieve's company suffered heavy casualties and was held up. Despite intense fire from two machine-guns, Grieve made a single-handed attack on both, killing their crews. He then led his men on to the objective, fighting until he was wounded.
Returning to Australia, he married the army nurse who had cared for him. Grieve later resumed a business career, but served in the Volunteer Defence Corps during the Second World War.
