Colin Grazier

Colin Grazier
Born	Tamworth, Staffordshire, England
Died	30 October 1942 Mediterranean Sea
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Rank	Able Seaman
Unit	HMS Petard
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	George Cross

Able Seaman Colin Grazier was posthumously awarded the George Cross for the "outstanding bravery and steadfast devotion to duty in the face of danger" which he displayed on 30 October 1942 in action in the Mediterranean.^[1]

WW2 heroics

Lieutenant Francis Fasson RN also won the George Cross for the courage that he displayed during the same incident. On 30 October 1942, the destroyer on which they served, HMS Petard, attacked and badly damaged the German U Boat U-559, in conjunction with the Destroyers RAF Sunderland flying boat of 47 Squadron based in Port Said. The crew of the U-559 surrendered and her crew was taken off with no casualties. Fasson and Grazier, along with NAAFI canteen assistant Tommy Brown, swam naked to the U-559 and entered the sinking submarine in complete darkness to capture instruments and documentation, fully aware that the submarine could sink without warning at any time. Grazier and Fasson continued to search for and hand over documents and equipment until suddenly the submarine sank, drowning them both. The awards were published in the London Gazette on 14 September 1943. It has been speculated that due to the significance of their actions they might have been awarded VCs, however secrecy of the cracking of the German Enigma ciphers had to be maintained.^[2] Despite this speculation, it should be pointed out that VCs can only be awarded for acts of valour while under enemy fire.

Legacy

In Grazier's home town of Tamworth there is a Hotel named after him, which contains a gallery of photographs, and an Avenue, and an office block named after Colin Grazier. In October 2002, a commemorative sculpture was unveiled in Tamworth to honour Grazier and his two colleagues involved in the capture of documents from U559. The sculpture, the work of Polish sculptor Walenty Pytel, takes the form of three anchors, and the date of the unveiling was chosen to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the action against U559.

References

1. ^ World War 2 Awards.com - FASSON, Francis Anthony Blair at www.ww2awards.com
2. ^ Bell, David (2005). "10". Staffordshire Tales of Murder & Mystery. Murder & Mystery. Countryside Books. pp. 92. ISBN 1 85306 922 1. 

Persondata
Name	Grazier, Colin
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth
Place of birth	Tamworth, Staffordshire, England
Date of death	30 October 1942
Place of death	Mediterranean Sea