John Gildroy Grant

John Gildroy Grant
Born (1889-08-26)26 August 1889
Hawera, New Zealand
Died 25 November 1970(1970-11-25) (aged 81)
Allegiance New Zealand
Service/branch New Zealand Military Forces
Years of service 1915–29
Rank Lieutenant
Unit Wellington Regiment
Battles/wars

First World War

Awards Victoria Cross

John Gildroy Grant, VC (26 August 1889 – 25 November 1970) was a soldier in the New Zealand Military Forces during the First World War. He was a 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.

Born in Hawera, Grant was a builder when he volunteered in June 1915 to serve in the First World War with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF). He was posted to the 1st Battalion of the Wellington Regiment and from 1916 served on the Western Front. It was on 1 September 1918, during an engagement at Bancourt, that he performed the actions that led to him being awarded with the VC. He ended the war as a second lieutenant. Discharged from the NZEF, he returned to civilian life. In his later years, he struggled to hold down regular employment due to the effects of what was most likely post-traumatic stress disorder. He died in 1970 at the age of 81.

Early life

John Grant was born on 26 August 1889 in Hawera,[1] a small town in the Taranaki region of New Zealand.[2] He was one of the nine children of George and Jane Grant, who were both originally from Scotland.[3] John's education ended after primary school and he took up construction work.[4] A volunteer fireman,[5] he was working as a builder when he enlisted in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) in June 1915.[2]

First World War

At the time of Grant's enlistment, the main contingent of the NZEF, which had formed the New Zealand and Australian Division, was engaged in the Gallipoli Campaign. After initial training, he embarked for the Middle East in October 1915 with the 7th Reinforcements.[4] He joined the 1st Battalion, Wellington Regiment of the New Zealand Division, then being formed in Egypt in the aftermath of the evacuation from the Gallipoli Peninsula. It duly embarked for the Western Front.[2] Grant served with the unit throughout 1916 and into 1917, during which time his battalion fought in the Battle of Flers–Courcelette,[6] and the Battle of Messines.[7] In June 1917, he was promoted to corporal and in early 1918 was made a sergeant.[4]

From late August to early September 1918, the New Zealand Division was engaged in the Second Battle of Bapaume, which had as its objective the town of Bapaume. On 1 September, near Bancourt, the lead elements of the 1st Battalion came under heavy fire from a series of German machine-gun posts, which threatened their advance. Despite this, Grant's platoon pressed on. As they neared one of the posts, Grant, followed by another soldier,[Note 1] broke ahead and entered the post, "demoralising" the crew, according to the London Gazette, and allowing his platoon to capture the Germans. He attacked another nearby machine-gun post in similar fashion and soon his platoon, and the rest of his company, were able to put the remaining posts out of action.[2] His battalion was relieved that evening.[9] For his role in the action of 1 September, Grant was awarded the Victoria Cross (VC).[2] The VC, instituted in 1856, was the highest gallantry award that could be bestowed on a soldier of the British Empire.[10] The citation read:

For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty near Bancourt on the 1st September, 1918, when Serjeant in command of a platoon forming part of the leading waves of the battalion attacking the high ground to the east of Bancourt. On reaching the crest, it was found that a line of five enemy machine-gun posts offered a serious obstacle to further advance. Under point blank fire, however, the company advanced against these posts. When about twenty yards from the posts Sjt. Grant, closely followed by a comrade, rushed forward ahead of his platoon, and with great dash and bravery entered the centre post, demoralising the garrison and enabling the men of his platoon to mop up the position. In the same manner he then rushed the post on the left and the remaining posts were quickly occupied and cleared by his company. Throughout the whole operation on this and the two previous days Sjt. Grant displayed coolness, determination, and valour of the highest order, and set a splendid example to all

— London Gazette, No. 31034, 26 November 1918[11]

Shortly afterwards, Grant was promoted to second lieutenant and travelled to Cambridge in England for officer training in October 1918. He was wounded in November, within days of his return to the front.[1] Together with three other New Zealanders who had been awarded the VC,[Note 2] he received his medal from King George V in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace on 27 February 1919.[12] His service with the NZEF ended with his repatriation to New Zealand later that year.[1] His home town of Hawera gave him a formal welcome on his return on 29 October 1919 and he was presented with an inscribed gold watch.[5]

Later life

In April 1921, Grant successfully stood for election as a city councillor for Hawera.[13] Later the same year, he was the best man at the wedding of fellow VC recipient, Harry Laurent.[14]

Grant remained involved with military life, serving in the Territorial Force until 1929, by which time he had reached the rank of lieutenant. He was discharged due to his age and also for being unable to attend camp.[2] The same year he went to London to attend a formal dinner for VC recipients. He later worked in Paeroa but in time found it difficult to gain and maintain employment. By 1934, his plight attracted the attention of the authorities but on investigation it was determined that erratic behaviour was the cause of his difficulties. Undiagnosed at the time, it is thought that Grant suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder.[2][4]

In 1937, Grant, along with several other VC recipients, was awarded the coronation medal to commemorate the ascension of King George VI to the British throne.[15] He attended the VC centenary event held in London in 1956 and also the VC reunion in 1968. Due to his health at the time, the latter event required public donations to pay for his flights and medical care.[4]

In his final years, Grant became a freemason and lived at the Masonic Village in Mount Roskill in Auckland.[4] He died on 25 November 1970 at the age of 81, and is buried in Auckland's Waikumete Cemetery.[2] A street in Hawera is named for him, and nearby is Laurent VC Street, named for fellow Hawera VC recipient Harry Laurent.[3]

Medals

Grant's VC, along with his 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal, and coronation medals, is alternatively displayed at the QEII Army Memorial Museum in Waiouru and the Puke Ariki in New Plymouth.[4] On 2 December 2007 it was one of nine VCs that were among a hundred medals stolen from the QEII Army Memorial Museum. On 16 February 2008, New Zealand Police announced all the medals had been recovered as a result of a NZ$300,000 reward offered by Michael Ashcroft and Tom Sturgess.[16]

Notes

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Lance Corporal Cecil Hill (23 June 1894 – 20 March 1973), 1st Battalion, Wellington Infantry Regiment. Hill was later awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his part in the operation.[8]
  2. ↑ These were James Crichton, a private at the time, Reginald Judson, and Harry Laurent, both second lieutenants.[12]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 "Lieutenant John Gildroy Grant". Auckland War Memorial Museum Cenotaph Database. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Harper & Richardson 2007, pp. 169–171.
  3. 1 2 "Grant VC Street". Kete New Plymouth. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Gliddon 2014, pp. 173–176.
  5. 1 2 "Lieut. Grant V.C. Welcomed Home". Hawera & Normanby Star (LXXIV). 29 October 1919. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  6. ↑ Cunningham, Treadwell & Hanna 1928, pp. 114–115.
  7. ↑ Cunningham, Treadwell & Hanna 1928, pp. 164–165.
  8. ↑ Polaschek 1982, p. 111.
  9. ↑ Cunningham, Treadwell & Hanna 1928, p. 286.
  10. ↑ O'Shea 2000, pp. 558–559.
  11. ↑ "No. 31034". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 November 1918. p. 14040.
  12. 1 2 "Four Victoria Cross Men". New Zealand Herald (Vol. LVI, issue 13170). 8 April 1919. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  13. ↑ "Hawera Borough Council". Hawera & Normanby Star (Vol. XLI, issue XLI). 29 April 1921. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  14. ↑ "Wedding: Laurent - Homewood". Hawera & Normanby Star (Vol. XLI, issue XLI). 23 August 1921. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  15. ↑ "V.C's Honoured - Coronation Medals". Auckland Star (155). 2 July 1937. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  16. ↑ NZPA (16 February 2008). "Medals stolen from Waiouru Army Museum recovered". nzherald. Archived from the original on 7 September 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2018.

References

  • Cunningham, W. H.; Treadwell, C. A. L.; Hanna, J. S. (1928). The Wellington Regiment (NZEF) 1914–1919. Wellington, New Zealand: Ferguson & Osborn. OCLC 20732280.
  • Gliddon, Gerald (2014) [2004]. Road to Victory 1918. VCs of the First World War. Stroud, Gloucestershire: History Press. ISBN 978-0-7509-5361-0.
  • Harper, Glyn; Richardson, Colin (2007). In the Face of the Enemy: The Complete History of the Victoria Cross and New Zealand. Auckland, New Zealand: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-1-86950-650-6.
  • O'Shea, Phillip (2000). "Victoria Cross". In McGibbon, Ian. The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Military History. Auckland, New Zealand: Oxford University Press. pp. 558–561. ISBN 0-19-558376-0.
  • Polaschek, Alan (1982). The Complete N.Z. Distinguished Conduct Medal: An account of the New Zealand recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal. Christchurch, New Zealand: Medals Research Christchurch. OCLC 154636052.
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