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Son of Alexander and Mary (nee GARDEN) GRANT, of Gregory Street, Mackay, Queensland

Military Medal

'Showed conspicuous gallantry and brave leadership in action near ZONNEBEKE on 26th September, 1917. On one occasion his Platoon met with stubborn resistance from an enemy post, he quickly appreciated the situation, rallied his section and got round on the flank of the post, cleared the situation up and the advance was continued with very little delay. Right through the operation he showed great dash and leadership of the highest standard.'
Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 31
Date: 7 March 1918

HE DIED THAT WE MIGHT LIVE

DEATH OF LIEUT. JOHN GRANT
The following letters referring to the death of Lieut. John Grant, in France, have been received by Mr. and Mrs. A. Grant senr. The sentiments  expressed by the writers prove that the sterling qualities he manifested in private life were associated with his military career.

Captain S. F. Porter writes :— My dear Mrs. Grant.-— You will no doubt have been officially advised of the death of your son, Lieut. John Grant, who died of wounds on May 23, at No. 20 Casualty Clearing Station, France. As I was with him all the time I am able to tell you how it happened. 

On May 23rd we came from the front line for a short rest. We reached a certain village, and John, as usual, busied himself with the comfort of the  men. After that we all went for a bathe in a canal near by. The weather was lovely so we decided to sleep under canvas in the garden, in  preference to indoors. There were six of us lying side by side. At about 11 o'clock an enemy air raid took place but no bombs dropped near us. We went off to sleep again. At about 2 a.m. on the 23rd a second raid took place, the enemy airman on this occasion dropping a bomb a yard from  where our heads were. John and another officer both received compound fractures of the skull. Your son also had a broken arm. How the rest of us were not injured is one of those mysteries which none of us can explain. All I remember is being shaken by the explosion and having the  canvas torn near my face. Poor John was not conscious so we got him on a stretcher and carried him to a first aid post which was nearby. The  doctor, who is a Dr. Cooney of America, shook his head and said he thought there was no hope. However, he did all he could and we got him away  in a motor ambulance. He reached the 20th Casualty Clearing Station, where he died the same afternoon at 3 o'clock, without having recovered consciousness.  We arranged for his funeral and he was buried in the military cemetary at Vignacourt at 4.30 on the afternoon of the 24th of May. Cpl. Vestergaard, Pte. W. W. Peele, his brother, and myself, were present at the funeral. The last sacred rites were performed by a Methodist padre of the Casualty Clearing Station. You will hear from him in due course. Slnce John has been in this battalion he has been all that a soldier should be.  He was very brave and danger did not prevent him from doing his work. The fact that he received a commission and was decorated the first time  he was in action is sufficient proof of his great courage. We very often have to put up with trying conditions, the details of which you know. No  matter how cold it was, or how muddy, I never once heard John grumble; he was cheerfulness personified. He was always solicitous for the welfare of his men and his loss is very keenly felt by them, and also by us, his brother officers. On looking over this letter it seems rather formal,  but you must forgive me for this, as events of this kind are of common occurrence.

Pt. J. V. Murphy writes:— I beg to offer by deepest sympathy in the great loss you have sustained. I came from Brisbane to London with your son,  Lieut. John, and found him to treat one and all alike. He had a happy knack of being able to control himself in calm or in rough conditions. He was  a born soldier, as his promotion when he came to France as a private clearly showed, for, in a few months, he was decorated and promoted.  Everyone respected him. We have lost a soldier and a gentleman and our sympathy is with you and yours.

J. H. Shearer writes: - It is with the deepest feelings of regret and sense of personal loss that I pen these few lines conveying to you my heartfelt  sympathy in the irreparable loss sustained by the untimely death of the late Lieut. J. Grant. It had been my privilege to share the friendship of  both your sterling sons for the past year and a half, and our army can ill afford to lose men of the sterling Christian qualities of the one which had  such a promising career cut short. In the dark hour of your affliction you have the sweet consolation that his example lives on, impelling men to  nobler aspirations and higher ideals. I am voicing the sentiments of the comrades of the battalion when I say that no more popular officer held commission in the Australian Imperial Forces, and his place will indeed be hard to fill.