Samuel Grant likeness

Samuel Grant cap badgePrivate Samuel Grant

18th (Service) Battalion (4th Glasgow) Highland Light Infantry
Service No: 5229

Samuel Grant grave

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Personal details

Family Information

Son of Robert Grant (1856 - 29/06/1913) and Christina Grant (1857 - 01/09/1903). Brother of Private Robert Grant of the 10th (Service) Battalion Highland Light Infantry who was Killed in Action at Loos on the 25/09/1915 on the opening day of the Battle of Loos. Another 3 brothers were serving in November 1916. From the 1891 Census - Address - Whites Square, Barrhead - Robert Grant aged 35, Christina Grant aged 34, William Grant aged 11, Agnes Grant aged 7, Robert Grant aged 5, James Grant aged 2. From the 1901 Census - Address - 6 Academy St, Shettleston - Robert Grant aged 45, Christina Grant aged 44, William Grant aged 21, Agnes Grant aged 17, Robert Grant aged 15, James Grant aged 12, John Grant aged 9, Janet Grant aged 9, Catherine Grant aged 8, Peter Grant aged 7, Samuel Grant aged 5.

Born / Resided

Bellshill / 35 Middle Row, Whifflet, Coatbridge with his brother and family.

Died

Killed in Action on the 18/07/1916 at Montauban / Delville Wood (part of the Battles of the Somme)

Enlisted

Coatbridge

Employed

Miner in Rosehall Colliery.

Age

21

Buried / Remembered

Thiepval Memorial (Pier and Face 15 C), Somme, France.

Cemetery / Memorial Information

The memorial commemorates more than 72,000 men of British and South African forces who died in the Somme sector before 20 March 1918 and have no known grave, the majority of whom died during the Somme offensive of 1916. On the high ground overlooking the Somme River in France, where some of the heaviest fighting of the First World War took place, stands the Thiepval Memorial. Towering over 45 metres in height, it dominates the landscape for miles around. It is the largest Commonwealth memorial to the missing in the world. On 1 July 1916, supported by a French attack to the south, 13 divisions of Commonwealth forces launched an offensive on a line from north of Gommecourt to Maricourt. Despite a preliminary bombardment lasting seven days, the German defences were barely touched and the attack met unexpectedly fierce resistance. Losses were catastrophic and with only minimal advances on the southern flank, the initial attack was a failure. In the following weeks, huge resources of manpower and equipment were deployed in an attempt to exploit the modest successes of the first day. However, the German Army resisted tenaciously and repeated attacks and counter attacks meant a major battle for every village, copse and farmhouse gained. At the end of September, Thiepval was finally captured. The village had been an original objective of 1 July.

Additional Information

The Battalion arrived in France on the 01/02/1916 and were part of the 106th Brigade, 35th Division. The Division was largely comprised of locally raised units known as “Bantams”, manned by troops who were under the normal regulation minimum height of 5 feet 3 inches. The formation of the "Bantams" In 1914, Alfred Bigland, the Member of Parliament for Birkenhead, pressed the War Office for permission to form a Battalion of men who were under regulation size but otherwise fit for service. Within a few days, some 3,000 men had volunteered, many of whom had previously been rejected as being under height. The original men were formed into the 1st and 2nd Birkenhead Battalions of the Cheshire Regiment (later re-designated the 15th and 16th Battalions). Other regiments began to recruit similarly : the Lancashire Fusiliers, West Yorkshires, Royal Scots, and Highland Light Infantry most notably. Many of the recruits were miners (including Samuel). Eventually these units were formed into the 35th Division. The "Bantams" were very popular at home and were often featured in the press. After frequent bar brawls in Glasgow, the cantankerous 18th Battalion of the Highland Light Infantry, a Bantam Battalion, gained such a fierce reputation that they were nicknamed the Devil Dwarfs by the locals. By the end of 1916, it was found that the general fitness and condition of men volunteering as bantams was no longer up to the standard required. Brigades were informed that no more undersized men would be accepted, and the Divisions lost their bantam status as replacements diluted the number of small men in the mix. Ulster "Bantams" - On 08/04/1915, Belfast newspapers announced that men between 5 ft and 5ft 3 could now enlist into units of the 36th (Ulster) Division. The only way that they could have enlisted before this was to go to Great Britain to join a bantam unit. The Division took part in the Battles of the Somme 1916, but in specific phases known as the fighting for Arrow Head Copse and Maltz Horn Farm and the fighting for Falfemont Farm, both in late July. SEE PHOTOS x 8 FOR THE 35th DIVISION BOOK 1st JULY - 19th JULY 1916. Samuel was Killed in Action in the 3rd week of the British Somme Offensive at Montauban / Delville Wood. SEE PHOTOS x 17 FOR THE BATTALION WAR DIARY JULY 1916. See Directory for Samuel's older brother Private Robert Grant's page. See photos for Samuel's Medal Index Card, his Newspaper clipping, his name on the 1911 Census Record, his Army Register of Soldiers Effects, his Service Medal and Award Rolls, his name on the Thiepval Memorial x 2, his CWGC Grave Registration and the Highland Light Infantry Cap Badge.

Photos
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War Diaries

The battalion War Diary is available on the National Archives website.

Creative Commons License

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