Arthur Stanley Gurney, VC (15 December 1908 – 22 July 1942) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Military career Gurney was 33 years old, and a private in the 2/48th Battalion (South Australia), Second Australian Imperial Force during the Second World War when he was awarded the VC (posthumously) for the following deed.
On 22 July 1942 at Tel-el-Eisa, Egypt, during the First Battle of El Alamein, intense machine-gun fire held up the company to which Private Gurney belonged and inflicted heavy casualties on it, including killing or wounding all the officers. Private Gurney, realizing the seriousness of the situation, charged the nearest machine-gun post, silencing the guns and bayoneting three of the crew. He bayoneted two more at a second post before a grenade knocked him down. Picking himself up, he charged a third post and disappeared from view. Later, his comrades, whose advance he had made possible, found his body.
VC citation Gurney's VC citation appeared in the London Gazette of 8 September 1942, reading:
Legacy The Stan Gurney ward at the former Repatriation General Hospital, Hollywood, and the Stan Gurney V.C. Memorial Bike Race, held annually in Western Australia, are named in his honour.
Medals Gurney's medal group, including his Victoria Cross, came into the National Collection in 1994, and is on permanent display at the Australian War Memorial.
Ribbon Description Notes Victoria Cross (VC)REL22319.006, Victoria Cross : Private A S Gurney, 2/48 Battalion, Australian War Memorial collection. Retrieved 13 November 2009. gazetted 1942 1939-45 StarREL22319.001, 1939–45 Star : Private A S Gurney, 2/48 Battalion, Australian War Memorial collection. Retrieved 13 November 2009. Africa StarREL22319.002, Africa Star : Private A S Gurney, 2/48 Battalion, Australian War Memorial collection. Retrieved 13 November 2009. Defence MedalREL22319.003, Defence Medal : Private A S Gurney, 2/48 Battalion, Australian War Memorial collection. Retrieved 13 November 2009. War Medal 1939-45REL22319.004, War Medal 1939–45 : Private A S Gurney, 2/48 Battalion, Australian War Memorial collection. Retrieved 13 November 2009. Australia Service Medal 1939-45REL22319.005, Australia Service Medal : Private A S Gurney, 2/48 Battalion, Australian War Memorial collection. Retrieved 13 November 2009.
References
External links Peter Brune, 'Gurney, Arthur Stanley (1908–1942)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 14, Melbourne University Press, 1996, p. 344. Private A.S. Gurney in The Art of War exhibition at the UK National Archives