William Lowther Grant

Admiral Sir William Lowther Grant KCB (10 November 1864 – 30 January 1929) was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, North America and West Indies Station.[1]

Sir William Grant
Vice-admiral Sir William Lowther Grant by Francis Dodd
Birth nameWilliam Lowther Grant
Born10 November 1864[1][2]
Southsea, Portsea Island, England
Died30 January 1929(1929-01-30) (aged 64)
West Malling, Kent, England
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch Royal Navy
Years of service1877 – 1920
RankAdmiral
Commands heldHMS Cornwallis
6th and 3rd Cruiser Squadrons
China Station
North America and West Indies Station
Battles/warsAnglo-Egyptian War
World War I
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath

Grant joined the Royal Navy in 1877,[3] and served in the Anglo-Egyptian War in 1882.[3] He was later Commander on board HMS Doris, flagship of the Commander-in-Chief, Cape of Good Hope Station, Admiral Sir Robert Hastings Harris, and was in January 1900 landed in Cape Colony to take part in the Second Boer War.[4] During the next months he commanded a detachment of guns operating in the Orange River Colony, and was specially promoted to captain on 21 October 1900 for services during the war.[5]

Still in South Africa, he was appointed in command of the guardship at Simons Town, the elderly ironclad masted turret ship HMS Monarch on 5 May 1902.[6] After the end of the Second Boer war, he was appointed Naval Advisor to the Inspector-General of Fortifications,[7] and left South Africa on SS Britannic in early October 1902 to take up the position on his return the following month.[8] Appointment as Assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence followed in 1908, before he became rear admiral providing special service with the Home Fleet in 1910.[3] He served in World War I initially commanding the 6th Cruiser Squadron with cruiser HMS Drake as his flagship.[9] He was made Commander-in-Chief, China Station in 1916 and Commander-in-Chief, North America and West Indies Station in 1918.[3] He retired in 1920.[3]

In retirement he sought to justify Admiral Lord Jellicoe's actions at the Battle of Jutland in the face of German criticism.[10]

Family

In 1892, Grant married Mabel Emily Brodrick, daughter of the Rev. Henry Brodrick and Emily Hester Brodrick.[11]

References
  1. "Obituary: Admiral Sir Lowther Grant". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 31 January 1929.
  2. "Catalogue description: Grant, William Lowther". The National Archives (UK). 15 July 1877. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  3. Sir William Lowther Grant Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
  4. "The War - Naval officers at the front". The Times (36053). London. 31 January 1900. p. 10.
  5. "No. 27244". The London Gazette. 6 November 1900. p. 6779.
  6. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times (36761). London. 7 May 1902. p. 10.
  7. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times (36887). London. 1 October 1902. p. 9.
  8. "The Army in South Africa - Troops returning Home". The Times (36899). London. 15 October 1902. p. 8.
  9. The Dreadnought Project
  10. Jutland History Evening Post, 1924
  11. Fox-Davies, Arthur Charles (1895). "Armorial Families". Internet Archive. Edinburgh: T.C. & E.C. Jack, Grang Publishing Works. pp. 132–3. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
Military offices
Preceded by
Sir Martyn Jerram		 Commander-in-Chief, China Station
1916–1917		 Succeeded by
Sir Frederick Tudor
Preceded by
Sir Montague Browning		 Commander-in-Chief, North America and West Indies Station
1918–1919		 Succeeded by
Sir Morgan Singer
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