{{Short description|Royal Navy seaman (1920–1942)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}} {{Infobox military person |name= Colin Grazier |image= Able Seaman, Colin Grazier Memorial (3) - geograph.org.uk - 1002037 (cropped).jpg |image_size= |alt= |caption= Grazier, as depcited on the memorial in Tamworth |nickname= |birth_date= {{Birth date|df=yes|1920|5|7}} |birth_place= Two Gates, Warwickshire, England |death_date= {{Death date and age|df=yes|1942|10|30|1920|5|7}} |death_place= Mediterranean Sea |burial_place= |allegiance= United Kingdom |branch= Royal Navy |service_years= 1940–1942 |rank= Able Seaman |service_number= P/SSX 25550 |unit= {{HMS|Petard|G56|6}} |commands= |battles= Second World War * Mediterranean and Middle East theatre ** Mediterranean War *** Sinking of German submarine ''U-559'' {{KIA}} |awards= George Cross |relations= |other_work= }} '''Colin Grazier''', GC (7 May 1920 – 30 October 1942) was a sailor in the Royal Navy who was posthumously awarded the George Cross for the "outstanding bravery and steadfast devotion to duty in the face of danger" which he displayed on 30 October 1942 in action in the eastern Mediterranean when capturing codebooks vital for the breaking of the German naval "Shark" Enigma cipher from the sinking {{GS|U-559}}.<ref>[https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/502 Colin Grazier] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241215201018/https://www.tracesofwar.com/persons/502 |date=15 December 2024 }}, ''TracesOfWar.com''</ref>
==Early life== Grazier was born at Two Gates in Tamworth, the son of Colin Grazier and his wife, Margaret Twynham. He was educated locally and joined the Royal Navy as soon as the Second World War began. He served on HMS ''Petard''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vconline.org.uk/colin-grazier-gc/4589207560|title=Colin Grazier GC - victoriacross|access-date=30 October 2019|archive-date=30 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191030130948/http://www.vconline.org.uk/colin-grazier-gc/4589207560|url-status=live}}</ref>
Grazier married Olive M. Grazier just before going to war. They lived at 211 Tamworth Road in Kingsbury, Warwickshire.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2493246/grazier,-colin/|title=Casualty Details | CWGC|access-date=30 October 2019|archive-date=30 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191030131822/https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2493246/grazier,-colin/|url-status=live}}</ref>
==30 October 1942== thumb|The telegram from the Admiralty to Mrs Olive Grazier, Bletchley Park Museum On the night of 30 October 1942, an enemy submarine was reported {{convert|70|nmi|km}} north of Port Said. The destroyers {{HMS|Pakenham|G06|2}}, {{HMS|Petard|G56|2}}, {{HMS|Dulverton|L63|2}}, {{HMS|Hero|H99|2}}, and {{HMS|Hurworth|L28|2}} were ordered to proceed from Alexandria to relieve {{HMS|Echo|H23|2}} who had been searching for the submarine (which was German U-boat {{GS|U-559||2}}).
HMS ''Petard'', assisted by Wellesley aircraft of No. 47 Squadron, located the U-boat and attacked with depth charges for nearly ten hours and finally forced the stricken boat to the surface at around 22:40. The U-boat was caught in ''Petard''{{'}}s search-lights, and the German crew, with Kapitänleutnant (Captain) Hans Heidtmann, were taken on board under guard, but not before they had opened sea valves and petcocks in order to scuttle the submarine before abandoning it. HMS ''Petard'' now sought volunteers to swim over and search the damaged submarine. Lieutenant Francis Fasson said that he would go aboard.<ref>[http://www.ellsbury.com/ultrafassongrazier.htm The Capture of the Wetterkurzschlüssel and Kurzsignalheft from U-559]</ref>
Fasson stripped off his clothes and jumped into the cold sea. Colin Grazier also volunteered and followed him across. The two men were then joined by 16-year-old NAAFI canteen assistant Tommy Brown, and they began the task of searching the rapidly sinking U-boat for any vital documents, code books or machinery.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.shipwrecksofegypt.com/images/shippages/u559.html |title=U559 |access-date=21 December 2012 |archive-date=8 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130808061519/http://www.shipwrecksofegypt.com/images/shippages/u559.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
The two senior men, Fasson and Grazier, entered the submarine and passed all the information they could get their hands on to Brown, who was waiting on the conning tower. Suddenly the submarine lurched and slipped beneath the waves, taking Grazier and Fasson with it. Both men were drowned. Their daring mission remained a secret for over 30 years due to the Official Secrets Act.
==George Cross citation== The awards of the George Cross to Fasson and Grazier were published in the ''London Gazette'' on 14 September 1943.<ref>[http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/36169/pages/4073/page.pdf London Gazette 14 September 1943]</ref>
{{Quotation|The King has been graciously pleased to approve the posthumous award of the George Cross to: – Lieutenant Anthony Blair Fasson, Royal Navy. Able Seaman Colin Grazier, P/SSX.25550 – for outstanding bravery and steadfast devotion to duty in the face of danger.|London Gazette}}
The medal is on display at the National War Museum at Edinburgh Castle.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vconline.org.uk/colin-grazier-gc/4589207560|title=Colin Grazier GC - victoriacross|access-date=30 October 2019|archive-date=30 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191030130948/http://www.vconline.org.uk/colin-grazier-gc/4589207560|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Legacy== thumb|The Colin Grazier Memorial in Tamworth, Staffordshire Fasson and Grazier had managed to pass out the vital code books that reached Bletchley Park on 24 November 1942. They proved to be the Discriminant Book {{lang|de|Wetterkurzschlüssel}} (short weather key) and Kurzsignalheft {{lang|de|Kurzsignalheft}} (short signals) code books, which yielded priceless information in breaking the U-boat Enigma codes. Convoys could now be rerouted to avoid wolfpacks and losses were halved in January and February, 1943.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.shipwrecksofegypt.com/images/shippages/u559.html |title=U559 |access-date=21 December 2012 |archive-date=8 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130808061519/http://www.shipwrecksofegypt.com/images/shippages/u559.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
In Grazier's home town of Tamworth, there is an avenue, an office block, and a hotel named after him. The hotel contains a gallery of photographs. In October 2002, a commemorative sculpture was unveiled in Tamworth to honour Grazier and his two colleagues involved in the capture of documents from ''U-559''. The sculpture, the work of Polish sculptor Walenty Pytel, takes the form of three anchors, and the date of the unveiling was chosen to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the action against ''U-559''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.thisistamworth.co.uk/Memorial-plaque-Tamworth-war-hero-Colin-Grazier/story-16563253-detail/story.html |title=Memorial plaque for Tamworth war hero Colin Grazier to be restored |access-date=21 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120902172315/http://www.thisistamworth.co.uk/Memorial-plaque-Tamworth-war-hero-Colin-Grazier/story-16563253-detail/story.html |archive-date=2 September 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
The museum at Bletchley Park has a section dedicated to his memory.
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Grazier, Colin}} Category:1942 deaths Category:British recipients of the George Cross Category:Royal Navy recipients of the George Cross Category:Royal Navy personnel killed in World War II Category:People from Tamworth, Staffordshire Category:Royal Navy sailors Category:World War II espionage Category:1920 births Category:Military personnel from Staffordshire Category:Military personnel from Warwickshire