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{{Short description|Recipient of the Victoria Cross}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2015}}
{{Infobox military person
|name=Charles James William Grant
|birth_date=14 October 1861
|death_date={{death-date and age|23 November 1932|14 October 1861}}
|birth_place= Bourtie, [[Aberdeenshire]]
|death_place=[[Sidmouth]], [[Devon]]
|placeofburial= Sidmouth Cemetery
|image= Lieutenant CJW Grant, VC, 1891. Commanded 89th and 92nd Punjabis.jpg
|caption=
|nickname=
|allegiance= {{UK}}
|serviceyears=
|rank=Colonel
|branch=[[British Indian Army]]
|commands= [[89th Punjabis]] [[92nd Punjabis]]
|unit=[[Suffolk Regiment]] [[Madras Staff Corps]] [[Indian Staff Corps]]
|battles=[[Anglo-Manipur War]] [[Third Anglo-Burmese War]] [[World War I|First World War]]
|awards= [[Victoria Cross]]
|laterwork=
}}
Colonel '''Charles James William Grant''' [[Victoria Cross|VC]] (14 October 1861 – 23 November 1932) was a [[Scotland|Scottish]] recipient of the [[Victoria Cross]], the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to [[United Kingdom|British]] and [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] forces.

==Details==
Charles Grant was born in Bourtie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. He attended the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]], before being commissioned into the [[Suffolk Regiment]] on 10 May 1882.<ref name=Parker90>Parker 2005, p. 90.</ref>

He was 29 years old, and a [[lieutenant]] in the [[Indian Staff Corps]], [[Indian Army]] during the [[Anglo-Manipur War]] when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC. In March 1891, during a revolt in the eastern Indian State of [[Manipur]], [[James Wallace Quinton]], the resident [[Ethel Grimwood|Frank Grimwood]] and other British officers were murdered,<ref>{{Cite ODNB|title=Grimwood [née Moore; other married name Miller], Ethel Brabazon [pseud. Ethel St Clair Grimwood] (1867–1928), the heroine of Manipur|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-101006|access-date=2020-10-12|year=2010|language=en|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/101006|last1=Reynolds|first1=K. D.}}</ref> while others were imprisoned. Lieutenant CJW Grant of the Madras Staff Corps with a detachment of eighty Punjabi and Gurkha soldiers was stationed at the border post of Tamu, some 55 miles from Manipur. On hearing about the incident on 28 March, he immediately marched with his detachment for relief of the survivors. On 31 March, he arrived at [[Thoubal]] about 15 miles from Imphal and immediately attacked and captured the village. He then proceeded to entrench his force. Next day, the Manipuris advanced towards [[Thoubal]] in force. Without waiting for the enemy to attack, Lieutenant Grant with forty men went out to meet them and forming up, opened fire. For the next nine days, the intrepid young officer and his gallant men repulsed repeated attacks. Always keeping the initiative, and surprising the Manipuris with sallies, he inflicted heavy casualties and thoroughly demoralized them. Several offers of truce and safe passage were spurned by him. On 9 April, he received orders to withdraw towards a British force, which was then advancing towards Manipur. Eighty men had defied the entire army of a state for more than a week, losing just one man killed and four wounded, including Lieutenant Grant. The lieutenant and his men joined the relieving force and took further part in fighting during which he was again wounded. The British entered Imphal (Kangla) on 26 April, bringing an end to the war. For his conspicuous bravery, inspirational leadership and devotion to duty, Lieutenant Charles Grant was awarded the Victoria Cross.<ref>Ahmad 2006, pp. 62–65.</ref>

His citation in the [[London Gazette]] reads:
{{quote|For the conspicuous bravery and devotion to his country displayed by him in having, upon hearing on the 27th March, 1891, of the disaster at Manipur, at once volunteered to attempt the relief of the British Captives, with 80 Native Soldiers, and having advanced with the greatest intrepidity, captured Thobal, near Manipur, and held it against a large force of the enemy. Lieutenant Grant inspired his men with equal heroism, by an ever-present example of personal daring and resource.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=26165|page=2805|date=26 May 1891}}</ref>}}
[[File:Action by Lt CJW Grant, VC, 1891.jpg|thumb|right|Action by Lieutenant CJW Grant, VC, at Thobal, Manipur, 1 April 1891.|280px]]

He later achieved the rank of [[Brevet (military)|brevet]] [[colonel]] and commanded the [[89th Punjabis|89th]] and [[92nd Punjabis]] (now 1st & 4th Battalions The [[Baloch Regiment]], [[Pakistan Army]]). He retired in 1911 and returned to England. He rejoined the army during the [[World War I|First World War]], acting as a draft conducting officer.<ref>{{Lives of WWI | id= 1418160 | name= Charles James William Grant }}</ref> He lived in Sidmouth, Devon, where he died in 1932, aged 71.<ref>Ahmad 2006, p. 65.</ref><ref>Parker 2005, p. 92.</ref>

On 24 June 2021, it was reported that Grant's VC was sold at auction along with other historically important items to an unnamed bidder for £420,000. <ref>{{Cite web|last=William|first=Helen|title=Victoria Cross soldier’s medals sell for £420,000|url=https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/newslondon/victoria-cross-soldier-s-medals-sell-for-420-000/ar-AALmxjp?ocid=msedgntp|access-date=2021-06-26|website=MSN|language=en-UK}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

==See also==
* [[List of Brigade of Gurkhas recipients of the Victoria Cross]]
* [[Ethel Grimwood]]

==References==
* Ahmad, Maj Rifat Nadeem, and Ahmed, Maj Gen Rafiuddin. (2006). ''Unfaded Glory: The 8th Punjab Regiment 1798–1956''. Abbottabad: The Baloch Regimental Centre.
* {{cite book|last=Parker|first=John|title=The Gurkhas: The Inside Story of the World's Most Feared Soldiers|publisher=Headline Books|location=London|isbn=978-0-7553-1415-7}}
*[[Monuments to Courage]] (David Harvey, 1999)
*[[The Register of the Victoria Cross]] (This England, 1997)
*[[Scotland's Forgotten Valour]] (Graham Ross, 1995)

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20041125092218/http://www.homeusers.prestel.co.uk/stewart/devonshi.htm Location of grave and VC medal] ''([[Devon]]shire)''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, Charles James William}}
[[Category:British recipients of the Victoria Cross]]
[[Category:1861 births]]
[[Category:1932 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Aberdeenshire]]
[[Category:Suffolk Regiment officers]]
[[Category:Indian Staff Corps officers]]
[[Category:Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst]]
[[Category:Madras Staff Corps officers]]
[[Category:British military personnel of the Third Anglo-Burmese War]]
[[Category:Indian Army personnel of World War I]]

Charles James William Grant - Revision history

Bot at 10:20, 27 February 2022