Brian Graves was the son of Horace Ivatt Graves and Daisy Graves of Wellington, New Zealand.

Lieutenant Graves was killed on 29 July 1944 at San Michele, south of Florence. Graves was the newly-appointed commander of F Troop and was being taken by Major Carson forward to the OP when a shell struck the scout car and killed both Lieutenant Graves and Gunner I.H. Henry. (ref. 2nd Div. History, p. 623-4)

During July 1944 the New Zealand Artillery was part of the advance to Florence. After the fall of Rome troops rested by the Liri river, training and recreation taking up the days until 7 July when orders were received that the Division should concentrate near Lake Trasimene. After the taking of Rome by the Allies in June 1944 the Germans fell back to the Gothic Line.They needed time to consolidate this line. For their part the Allies aimed to reach the Northern Apennines before this consolidation could take place. The result was that as the Fifth Army advanced along the coast and the Eighth Army advanced further inland they found stiff resistance as the Germans sought to slow down Allied progress. From 5 July the Allies encountered resolute resistance in defence of positions just south of a line Ancona-Arezzo-Leghorn and in particular on both sides of the Chiana valley.The Allied attack along this line began on 14/15 July.Within a week it had taken all the strong points of the German defences and had gained the ports of Ancona and Leghorn.The Americans reached the Arno on 4 August and on the 13 August the 8th Indian Division crossed the river and occupied Florence. The first days of August saw the end of the campaign in central Italy. The next stage involved the Allied forces in the attack on the Gothic Line which the Germans had heavily fortified. The delaying tactics they had used at Lake Trasimene and near Arezzo had allowed time to complete this work. AWMM