Arthur (Stan) Gurney

West Australian, Arthur Stanley Gurney, embarked for the Middle East in July 1941. He was killed in action 12 months later. His final act of 'gallantry and unselfish bravery' was recognised with the award of a Victoria Cross.

Early life

Arthur, better known as 'Stan', was born at Day Dawn in the Murchison area on 15 December 1908. Now a ghost town, Day Dawn was an important gold-mining community during Stan's childhood but was in decline by the 1930s.

Stan's father, George, was a miner. Both he and his wife, Jane, were from South Australia but they married at Norseman, a gold-mining town 700 km east of Perth. Stan had 3 sisters and an older brother.

Stan grew up with a strong work ethic, helping both his parents after school and on weekends. He loved his sport and played cricket and tennis and was also a competitive road cyclist. In 1929, Stan Gurney won a 50-mile cycling race[Trove] and remained interested in the sport for the rest of his life.

The Gurney family moved to Perth when Stan was 15. He finished his education at Stott's Business College and worked for a short while with a local real estate agent. He also worked with the City of Perth Electricity and Gas Department.

War service

Stan joined the 2nd Australian Imperial Force (AIF) as a private on 6 December 1940. He left Fremantle for the Middle East on 5 July 1941, where he was posted to D Company, 2/48th Infantry Battalion.

Stan served at Tobruk, Palestine and Syria. Late in June 1942, his battalion rushed to Egypt to head off Field Marshal Erwin Rommel’s advance. By 22 July, D Company had lost all its officers in fierce fighting at Tel el Eisa and casualty numbers continued to rise.

Stan was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions. Western Australia’s Lieutenant Governor, Sir James Mitchell, presented the medal to Stan’s 84-year-old father at a ceremony in Perth in 1943. His citation records:

Victoria Cross citation

Private Arthur Stanley Gurney WX9858

Australian Military Forces  

For gallant and unselfish bravery in silencing enemy machine-gun posts by bayonet assault at Tell El Eisa on the 22nd July, 1942, thus allowing his Company to continue the advance.

During an attack on strong German positions in the early morning of the 22nd July, 1942, the Company to which Private Gurney belonged was held up by intense machine-gun fire from posts less than 100 yards ahead, heavy casualties being inflicted on our troops, all the officers being killed or wounded.  

Grasping the seriousness of the situation and without hesitation, Private Gurney charged the nearest enemy machine-gun post, bayonetted three men and silenced the post. He then continued on to a second post, bayonetted two men and sent out a third as a prisoner. At this stage a stick grenade was thrown at Private Gurney which knocked him to the ground. He rose again, picked up his rifle and charged a third post using the bayonet with great vigour. He then disappeared from view, and later his body was found in an enemy post.  

By this single-handed act of gallantry in the face of a determined enemy, Private Gurney enabled his Company to press forward to its objective, inflicting heavy losses upon the enemy. The successful outcome of this engagement was almost entirely due to Private Gurney's heroism at the moment when it was needed.

[Second Supplement to The London Gazette of 8 September 1942. 11 September 1942, Number 35698, p 3953.] 

AWM REL22319.006

Commemorating Stan Gurney

Each year, on Anzac Day, cyclists gather for the Stan Gurney VC Memorial Race.

He is also remembered at the Arthur Stanley Gurney VC Memorial Park in Cue, Western Australia.