BROCK, Geoffrey Hutton
| Service Number: | VX22 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 October 1939 |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant Colonel |
| Last Unit: | 31/51 (amalgamated) Infantry Battalion AMF |
| Born: | BOX HILL, VIC, 11 October 1907 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Camberwell Grammar |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Illness, Australia, 19 December 1943, aged 36 years |
| Cemetery: |
Atherton War Cemetery, Queensland A A 7, Atherton War Cemetery, Atherton, Atherton Tableland, Queensland, Australia |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Brisbane 31/51 Australian Infantry Battalion (AIF) Roll of Honour, Cairns - 31/51 Australian Infantry Battalion |
World War 2 Service
| 3 Sep 1939: | Involvement Lieutenant Colonel, VX22 | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1939: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Lieutenant Colonel, VX22, 31/51 (amalgamated) Infantry Battalion AMF |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
D S O, 3 times Mentioned in Despatches
Son of Charles Henley Brock and Charlotte Isabel Brock; husband of Audrey Sinclair Brock, of Camberwell, Victoria.
Capt Brock served in Greece and the Middle East, where he was promoted to the rank of Major and awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for 'Distinguished service, zeal and efficiency' on 8 July 1941. Later transferred to New Guinea with the 31/51 Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Brock returned to Australia shortly before he died of illness in Queensland on 19 December 1943, aged 36 years.
Tribute To Late Lieut-Col. Brock
The death from Illness on active service of VX22, Lleut.-Col. Geoffrey Hutton Brock, has been announced by the Minister of the Army. He was one of the first Victorian officers to enlist, and left Australia with the 6t,h Division in 1940, Col. Brock served in the Middle East and saw active service in Libya and Greece. He was mentioned in despatches, and won the D.S.O. He left the Middle East with the 6th Division early in 1942, and was stationed in Ceylon for some months. On returning to Australia he was given command of a Battalion, which he led in New Guinea.
He is survived by his wife, who is the daughter of Mr and Mrs H. E. Henshaw, of Waterloo Street, Camberwell.
John Hetherlngton, who was The Herald war correspondent in the Middle East from 1940-43, writes: —
"By the death of Col. Brock Australia has lost one of its ablest young soldiers. Daring, determined, calculating, he was a fine leader of men, "In the Libya fighting on one occasion, the C.O. of an Infantry battalion was knocked in the early stages of a battle, and Col. Brock was sent by Brigadier Savige to take over when the unit was held up and temporarily disorganised. "He sized up the situation in a few minutes, pulled the wavering unit together, and pushed it forward to success."
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