John Gregory Crace

Who was John Gregory Crace?

Vice Admiral Sir John Gregory Crace KBE, CB, RAN, also known as Jack Crace, was an Australian who came to prominence as an officer of the Royal Navy. Crace nevertheless spent a great deal of his career with the Royal Australian Navy. He commanded the Australian-United States Support Force at the Battle of the Coral Sea in 1942.

Crace was born to Kate Marion Crace and Edward Kendall Crace at Gungahlin. He was educated at The Kings School in Parramatta, before completing school in the UK in October 1899. Crace then enlisted in the RN. His first posting was with the training ship HMS Britannia, in May 1902. After being trained as a torpedo officer, Crace served on the battlecruiser HMAS Australia throughout the First World War.

He travelled back and forth to Australia during the interwar years, and served in a series of sea and shore positions before being assigned command of the Australian Squadron in September 1939. Upon his arrival in Sydney, Crace grew increasingly dismayed at the state of the RAN fleet and attempted to resign. However, after war with Japan broke out, Crace was appointed commander of the Allied Naval Squadron, ANZAC Force.