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Lt. Col. (Dr.) William Charles Grey

Commemorated at
Given name
Dr. W C Grey
Family name
Grey
Gender
Male
Place of enlistment
Sydney
Conflicts
First World War, 1914–18
Campaign
Gallipoli 1915
Fate
Returned to Australia (RTA)
Fate date
20 December 1916
Additional information
Religion
Methodist
Occupation
Doctor
Address given on enlistment documents
Victoria Avenue
Lidcombe NSW
Marital status
Married
Age at embarkation (years)
39
Age at embarkation (months)
7
Next of kin
Wife, Louisa Grey
Enlistment date
Thu, 20 August 1914
Embarkation details
Embarked on HMAT Kyarra on 28 November 1914
Rank on enlistment
Major
Last held rank
Lieutenant Colonel
Unit on enlistment
No 2 General Hospital
Unit at time of death or end of service
3rd Auxiliary Hospital, Heliopolis, Egypt
Service
Australian Army - First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF)
Veteran Notes/Bio

Dr W C Grey of the Auburn Methodist Church was one of the first men to be commissioned as an officer in the AIF. William Charles Grey, age 39 years 7 months, and a graduate in medicine from Sydney University, was a local doctor who lived with his wife Louisa at Benarty, Victoria Avenue, Lidcombe.

Less than three weeks after the declaration of war, Dr Grey applied for a commission in the Australian Army Medical Corps. He was commissioned major and appointed to N°2 General Hospital, then being prepared for service overseas. Major Grey embarked on the hospital ship HMAT A55 Kyarra on 28 November 1914 and arrived in Alexandria, Egypt on 13 January 1915. Major Grey served in several medical units in Egypt then, on 1 January 1916, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and given command of the 3rd Auxiliary Hospital at Heliopolis, then treating many soldiers just returned from Gallipoli.

At the end of 1916, Lieutenant-Colonel Grey spent several months in England before returning to Australia on the Wiltshire in December 1916. Having served in the Medical Corps for over two years, Dr Grey had to once again build up his medical practice in Auburn and Lidcombe. He was a much-respected local doctor when he died in 1930 age 56.

Further reading:

  • Auburn remembers : remembering the men of Auburn who gave their lives in the First World War 1914-1918, by Ron Inglis (Auburn, NSW : Cumberland RSL sub-Branch, 2020)

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Recorded by
Ron Inglis