Claude Olaf “Bluey” Grimsey
Gunner · NZ #551 · R1 Patrol
| Rank | Gunner |
|---|---|
| Service number | NZ #551 |
| Patrol | R1 Patrol |
| Regiment | N.Z. A/T Bty. |
| Known as | “Bluey” |
| Born | 1907-12-25 |
| Died | 1977 |
| POW / KIA | PoW — Gheddahia–Bu Ngem track, 27 Dec 1942 |
| Record | https://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/119042 |
What this roll records
North Africa — 27 Dec 1942, Gheddahia–Bu Ngem track: prisoner of war. R1 navigator; the ship carrying him and Evans (probably the Bombardiere) was sunk 17 Jan 1943; Grimsey survived. Source: TRACKS magazine (LRDG Association), Ian Chard, 'Not all were lucky — LRDG missing in North Africa', June 2023.
Patrol R: named as an R Patrol member in Brendan O'Carroll, "The Long Range Desert Group in North Africa".
Patrol R: "R Patrol navigator Gunner C.O. 'Bluey' Grimsey". Patrol from Brendan O'Carroll, "The Long Range Desert Group in North Africa".
On original LRP Roll (5 Dec 1940): R — A/T Gnr; Navigator R2 Patrol; PW with R1 Patrol, Wadi Zem Zem Dec 42. Source: LRP Roll (Original LRP Nominal Roll as at 5 Dec 1940, Capt L H Browne).
Cenotaph record linked. Source: Auckland War Memorial Museum Online Cenotaph.
Captured in North Africa: R1 Patrol, 27 Dec 1942, Gheddahia–Bu Ngem track. date also annotated 28 Dec 1942. Source: "Names of LRDG NZ personnel captured in North African campaign" (per Brendan O’Carroll).
Prisoner-of-war camp: Stalag 344 (code 344), POW No. 27402. Source: Germany & German-Occupied Territories Imperial POW Alphabetical List, Section 4 (N.Z.), 2NZEF. Transcription via Zenodo (DOI 10.5281/zenodo.3632116, CC BY 4.0).
On the R Patrol Nominal Roll, 31 March 1941: Gunner Grimsey C.O., 551. Source: Brendan O'Carroll, 'R Patrol, Long Range Desert Group' (R Patrol Nominal Roll, 31 March 1941).
Captured 28 December 1942; POW at Stalag VIII-B (later 344), Lamsdorf; POW serial 27402. Farmer in civilian life. Embarked/served with 34th Battery, N.Z. Artillery. Source: Auckland War Memorial Museum Online Cenotaph.
The Kiwi Scorpions (Brendan O'Carroll): L-Bdr C. O. Grimsey — farmer, Te Aroha; born England, 25 Dec 1907; taken prisoner 27 Dec 1942.
One of the three New Zealanders in R1 patrol’s wireless truck captured when the patrol was ambushed by German armoured cars on the Gheddahia–Bu Ngem track, 27 December 1942. Source: ‘The Eighth Army Advance / Reconnaissance in Tunisia’, Episodes & Studies Vol. 1 (NZ official war history).
Stung three times by a scorpion at Taiserbo (1941); using the dead scorpion as a model, designed the scorpion-within-a-wheel badge that became the official insignia of the LRDG. Source: ‘Long Range Desert Group in Libya, 1940–41’, Episodes & Studies Vol. 1 (NZ official war history).
Farmer, of Te Aroha; born England, 25 Dec 1907. Prisoner of war, 27 Dec 1942. Source: Episodes & Studies Vol. 1 (biographical notes).
See him in the full roll →Where this comes from
- AKA added from the LRDG Preservation Society’s Troopers roll (missing information).
- LRDG Nominal Roll, 28 Dec 1940 – Jan 1941 (courtesy Tarek el Mahdy)
- Additional sources (AWMM Online Cenotaph). Nominal Roll 2NZEF No. 3 (Embarkations 1 Jul 1940–31 Mar 1941), p.186. Unit history: Mason, W.W. (1954). Prisoners of war. External links: Germany imperial POW list, section 4 (Zenodo): https://zenodo.org/records/3955186 Also cited: List of 2NZEF Prisoners of War 1941-1945, AWMM Library MS 2009/8.
This page is part of the Long Range Desert Group roll of members at lrdgarchive.org. If you hold rights to anything on it and would like it credited differently, or taken down, please see Sources and Copyright. It will be dealt with promptly.
Not By Strength But By Guile