| [Index] |
| Henry Arthur CRIBB (1913 - 1942) |
| Children | Self + Spouses | Parents | Grandparents | Greatgrandparents |
| Henry Arthur CRIBB (1913 - 1942) | Frederick James CRIBB (1877 - 1923) | Thomas CRIBB (1841 - 1910) | ||
| Hannah Bygrove ATKINSON (1837 - 1920) | ||||
| Mary Ellen MCNAMARA (1882 - 1960) | James MCNAMARA (1851 - 1900) | John MCNAMARA | ||
| Mary Ann CONWAY | ||||
| Mary Ann GAMBELL (1863 - 1929) | Edward GAMBELL (1837 - 1904) | |||
| Mary Jane EDGERTON (1842 - 1906) |
| b. 1913 at Tumut, New South Wales, Australia |
| d. 17 Jul 1942 at Egypt aged 29 |
| Parents: |
| Frederick James CRIBB (1877 - 1923) |
| Mary Ellen MCNAMARA (1882 - 1960) |
| Events in Henry Arthur CRIBB (1913 - 1942)'s life | |||||
| Date | Age | Event | Place | Notes | Src |
| 1913 | Henry Arthur CRIBB was born | Tumut, New South Wales, Australia | |||
| 10 Dec 1923 | 10 | Death of father Frederick James CRIBB (aged 46) | Tumut, New South Wales, Australia | 63 | |
| 17 Jul 1942 | 29 | Henry Arthur CRIBB died | Egypt | ||
| Personal Notes: |
|
ROLL OF HONOUR
Henry Arthur Cribb Service number NX38215 Rank Gunner Unit 4 Light Anti Aircraft Regiment RAA Service Australian Army Conflict/Operation Second World War, 1939-1945 Conflict Eligibility Date Second World War, 1939-1947 Date of Death 17 July 1942 Place of Death Egypt Cause of Death Died of wounds Cemetery or Memorial Details El Alamein War Cemetery, El Alamein, Marsa Matruh, Egypt Source AWM147 Roll of Honour cards, 1939-1945 War, 2nd AIF (Australian Imperial Force) and CMF (Citizen Military Force) The Tumut and Adelong Times 27 Jul 1943 DEATH OF A TUMUT SOLDIER A Tribute to the Late Gunner Harry Cribb Mrs. W. J. Auckland, of Lacmalac, has received the following letter from Gnr. Arthur Rees, which gives details of her son, Gunner Harry Cribb (A.I.F.), who died of wounds in Egypt on July 17, 1942, and which offers tribute to the memory of one who died a "soldier and a man":— "DEAR MRS. AUCKLAND,— This is the hardest letter I have ever written in my life and, perhaps to you, one of the strangest. You see, Mrs. Auckland, I was with Harry, your son, when he was wounded and I thought you would like to hear the true facts about it all. I have been trying to trace the address of Harry's next-of-kin for some time, otherwise I would have written long before this. I was a member of the same gun crew as Harry, and I might add that he was the most popular member of the crew. His quiet, unassuming manner and ready wit won him a spot in all our hearts. Harry was a first-class gunner, and although he had never fired the gun before, he had a twin-engined German bomber to his credit the second day in action. I am not boasting when I say that is quite a feat for a light A/A gun. We all felt very proud, as ours was the first gun of 10th battery to bring a 'plane down. Life in the desert is very hard, Mrs. Auckland. Thousands of pestering flies, poor food, and all the time heat and sand, with a glare enough to blind one. Harry never complained, always taking the good with the bad and always giving out that wonderful smile of his to help cheer we moaners. It was the 17th July and we were all sitting around the gun talking. Without warning, a shell got a direct hit on our gun-pit. Harry got the worst of it and I think everyone was either too shocked or wounded to realise for a moment what had happened. My first thoughts were for Harry. All the others had managed to crawl out of the pit. I find it so hard to write about, Mrs. Auckland, so please for give me if I sound brutal or reopen your wound. Somehow I reached Harry and managed to stop the bleeding, for he had lost his left leg below the knee and practically all the right foot. It almost tore my heart out to see him lying there, still conscious, with that swell smile on his face. I dressed his wounds and I called to a nearby ambulance to bring the doctor with morphia. As long as I live never will I forget the bravery of your son. He was one in a million— never turned a hair, although his pain and the knowledge that he'd lost his legs must have been breaking his heart. Not once did he stop smiling, and as I dressed his wounds he looked up and said, "Think of all the money I'll save on boots and shoes now !' and 'You've got to admit Jerry is a pretty good shot !' His fortitude and unbroken spirit at such a time is quite beyond my comprehension. I did not think it possible for any person to be so seriously wounded and still smile as Harry did. When I lifted him into the ambulance the smile was still on his face, and as the ambulance drove off he looked, back, waved, smiled, and said, "I'll be all right, old son !' to me. That is the last goodbye I said to Harry, and I honestly thought he would pull through ; but I believe the reactionary shock was too much for his weakened condition. Deep in my heart I was happy to know Harry had passed to a much happier world. Glad to know that he was safe and at rest from all this horror. Harry would have hated life without his legs and I feel sure you would have felt it just as badly. God doesn't create better men than your son, Mrs. Auckland, for Harry was pure gold. His brave, wonderful, and smiling spirit is something I can never forget, either in this world or the next. My very deep and sincere sympathy is so little to offer for the great loss you have sustained, and I can only ask our Creator to give you some comfort in the knowledge that your son lived and died a soldier, and a man. Please forgive me if I have hurt you in writing this letter, but I could not rest until you knew how wonderfully brave Harry was and to tell you he will live on forever, enshrined in the hearts of we gunners who were privileged to know him and call him 'Cobber'.'' |
| Source References: |
| 63. Type: Web Page, Abbr: Trove, Title: Trove National Library of Australia, Locn: http://trove.nla.gov.au/ |
| - Reference = Adelong and Tumut Express 14 Dec 1923 (Name, Notes) |