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Eugene Arthur Griffs (1918 - 1945)

Eugene Arthur Griffs
Born in Bombay, Indiamap
Ancestors ancestors
[spouse(s) unknown]
[children unknown]
Died at age 27 [location unknown]
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Profile last modified | Created 24 Sep 2024
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Contents

Biography

Birth & Baptism

Eugene Arthur Griffs was the son of Richard Arthur Griffs (abt.1883-) and Ivy Elizabeth (Jones) Griffs.

He was born on the 15th of March 1918 and baptised on the 10th of April that year at St Ignatius Catholic Church, Jacob Circle, Bombay. The family lived in Lower Parel; his father was noted as Anglo-Indian and employed by B.B. Railway.[1]

Military Service and Prisoner of War - WWII

Eugene Arthur Griffs was a private in the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) working as a Proof Reader and was a prisioner at the Malaya POW camp following capture on the 15th of February 1942. [2]

There is a record in the War Office: Japanese Index Cards of Allied Prisoners of War and Internees, Second World War, 1942-1945 collection providing the following details about Eugene:

Name: Griffs. Eugene Arthur
Nationality: Anglo-Indian
Rank: Priave, RAMC
Place of Capture: Singapore
Father's name: (no entry)
Place of Origin: Kalyan, Bombay, India
Destination of Report: Mrs. I. Thorley, Eastern Command Signal Co. Fort William Calcutta, Mother
Date of Birth: 15th of March 1918
Unit: No 7535352, 17 Combined General Hospital, RAMC Army.
Date of Capture: 15th February 1942
Mother's Name: Mrs Ivy Thorley
Occupation: Proof Reader
Remarks: (no entry)

Anther record set, detailing British POWs held in Japanese Occupied Territory, lists Eugene, giving a date of liberation of 2nd September 1945, camp reference as MA. In the Remarks column Medical is typed and handwritten underneath that is Dead. [3]

Death & Burial

A gravestone for Eugene Arthur Griffs stands at the Delhi War Cemetery. The inscription details: 7535352 Private. E.A. Griffs. Royal Army Medical Corps. 2nd November 1945. Age 27." A photograph of the stone can be seen on the FindaGrave entry for him.[4]

Research Notes

There are several other PoW records that Eugene appears in that are available on FindMyPast. They don't add any further parrticular information. [5]

The liberation date of 2nd of September 1945 suggests Eugene was in a PoW camp in Penang as this is the date of the liberation of the island under Operation Jurist following Japan's surrender in August. However, no camps are listed in Penang[6]

Commonwealth War Graves Record page[7] This details Eugene as " Son of Richard Arthur Griffs, and of Ivy Elizabeth Griffs, of Feltham, Middlesex."


Sources

  1. "United Kingdom, British India Office, Births and Baptisms, 1712-1965", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6VT1-JBHW : Wed Sep 11 05:48:40 UTC 2024), Entry for Eugene Arthur Griffs and Arthur Griffs, 10 Apr 1918.
  2. "Prisoners of War, 1715-1947", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6FWW-8H2B : 20 May 2022), Eugene Arthur Griffs, 1942.
  3. FindMyPast, full document available[1]
  4. "Find a Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVVN-TL2F : 26 June 2024), Eugene Arthur Griffs, ; Burial, New Delhi, New Delhi District, National Capital Territory of Delhi, India, Delhi War Cemetery; citing record ID 22913857, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
  5. [2][3][4][5]
  6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Japanese-run_internment_camps_during_World_War_II
  7. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2177267/eugene-arthur-griffs/




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Categories: Delhi War Cemetery, Delhi, India