As part of our commemorations for Anzac Day 2025, we are featuring the stories of several King’s Old Boys who served in World War Two.
Sir John (Jack) Gregory Crace (1887-1968) was born in Gungahlin in present-day Australian Capital Territory and was educated at The King’s School, from 1898-1899, then at Harrow School before joining the Royal Navy in 1902. The Crace Champion Scholarship at King’s was established in his memory.
The Battle of the Coral Sea is considered a strategic victory in the Pacific theatre of World War II. Significantly, it halted the Imperial Japanese Navy’s southward advance. A critical factor in this outcome was the Allied cruiser force, Task Force 44, commanded by Rear Admiral John Crace, of the Royal Navy.
On the morning of 7 May 1942, Task Force 44 (HMAS Australia and HMAS Hobart) was detached to cover the Jomard Passage and intercept the invasion force heading for Port Moresby. That afternoon, the cruiser force faced repeated air attacks but successfully repelled the Japanese aircraft, suffering only a few casualties.
These actions helped prevent the Japanese navy from reaching the strategically important Port Moresby and establishing a base from which to launch future operations against Australia, although Crace was disappointed that his mission was peripheral to the main battle being fought to the east by the US Navy. The Battle of the Coral Sea set the scene for the forthcoming Battle of Midway, which was the turning point in the Pacific war.
Crace retired with the rank of Vice Admiral in 1946 and was knighted in 1947. After his death in 1968, the Crace Champion Scholarship was established by bequest to commemorate Sir John Crace and Arthur Champion who were brothers-in-law. The scholarship supports a boarder in the Senior School.
Image 1 (above): By unknown author – Rear Admiral, John Crace with Prime Minister, Robert Menzies, at Cockatoo Island, 16 February 1940. Australian War Memorial, Public Domain, https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C23298
Image 2 (below): By Unknown author – Vice Admiral, Sir John Gregory Crace, Australian War Memorial, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5130556
