John Charles Grover

John Charles Grover (1920 - )

John Charles Grover was born in 1920 at Randwick.

He transferred from a militia Engineer unit to the AIF when war broke out in 1939.

By October 1941, by then a lieutenant, he was in the Middle East undertaking engineering tasks with 2/1 Field Company including the push north into Syria as the Australians fought the Vichy French.

With the Pacific War underway much of the AIF was returned home to defend Australia and Grover soon found himself in Papua. His unit was sent to the start of the Kokoda Trail, with the task of hacking an alternative track through the wild jungle. They had almost reached Nauro when the Japanese arrived first, and the work was abandoned.

He later built roads and bridges around Buna and faced the force of nature often ruining bridges that had just been built. In charge of a platoon of 2/14 Field Company, next came Wau and Bulolo, again building and repairing much-needed bridges. In the mountains there was again the problem of battling storming rivers that threatened to wash their work away.

The end of the war in the Pacific found Grover and his engineers supporting the fighting along the New Guinea north coast where road building in swampy country was a vital task.

Grover went on to a very distinguished career in civilian life as an engineer and geologist in the mining industry.

He worked in the British Solomon Islands as a Senior Geologist and for the Geological Survey of Fiji, then consultant into research into prediction of volcanic eruptions. He was a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, Australia.

To access an oral history interview with John Charles Grover please use this link:

https://heritage.engineersaustralia.org.au/wiki/Oral_Histories_Sydney