Captain John Ferguson GRAHAM (RO/3586)
D Company, 3rd Battalion 14th Punjab Regiment

Date of birth: 25th November 1917
Date of death: 23rd July 1942

Killed in action aged 24
Buried at El Alamein War Cemetery Plot V Row G Grave 3
He was born at Las Palmas on the 25th of November 1917 the eldest son of Neil Graham, engineer, and Winifred of Las Palmas, Grand Canary and of "The Kraal", Sturry in Kent.

He was educated at the Junior King's School from September 1926 and at the King's School Canterbury from September 1931 until July 1934, where he was in the The Grange and was Captain of Hall. On leaving school he moved to India where he worked as a planter.

He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Indian Army on the 18th of June 1941 and joined the 3rd Battalion, 14th Punjab Regiment. In 1941 his battalion was posted to North Africa where they saw action in Eritrea. He was promoted to Lieutenant on the 15th of December 1941 and to temporary Captain on the same date. John Graham was later detached for service as part of the Occupied Enemy Territory Administration in Eritrea but re-joined his battalion on the 23rd of June 1942 where he was appointed to the command of D Company.

At 10.30pm on the 21st of July 1942 the 3rd Battalion, 14th Punjab Regiment received orders for an attack on an enemy strong point known as "Point 63" with the wider objective of reaching the eastern edge of the Deir El Shein Depression and to clear the western half of the Ruweisat Ridge. The battalion was to make a night advance and was to occupy the northern and southern slopes of Point 63. B and D Companies were to be on the left of the attack with A Company on the right and with C Company in reserve on the eastern slope of Point 62. The company commanders were briefed for the attack at 9.30am the next morning.

At 1.30am on the morning of the 23rd of July 1942 the assaulting companies began moving forward from their start point at Point 62. At 6.30am A Company reported that they were unable to locate their objective and that they were caught in the open on the lower slopes of Point 62 under heavy fire. At 7am the battalion commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel WA Putnam, went forward to assess the situation and concluded that all four companies would advance together and attack the enemy positions in daylight. The advance began at 10.30am when the men were met with heavy shell and machine gun fire as they moved forward. A and D Companies reached the enemy wire with B Company some 100 to 150 yards behind them. By 11am they were under fire from both shell fire and mortars from three directions followed by an attack from the right by three enemy tanks which attempted to take the two lead companies in the rear. On seeing this attack develop Lieutenant Colonel Putnam gave immediate orders for the battalion to retire to its start line with the intention of resuming the attack from there. Seconds after having given these orders he was killed by a shell. Most of the men only received the order to retire and continued to fall back but one section of D Company held out in a section of the German trenches until they too were forced back. At 4pm an attack by Ju87 Stuka dive bombers fell upon Battalion Headquarters and destroyed the signals truck. The battalion's survivors were transported to the rear in the late afternoon.

Casualties for the attack were one officer killed with two missing and two wounded. four other ranks were killed with one hundred killed and eighteen missing. John Graham was among the missing but his body was later recovered.
The Grange

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