| Date of birth: | 1893 |
| Place of birth: | Southampton |
| Service No.: | TBC |
| Rank: | Assistant Store Keeper |
| Regiment / Division: | Mercantile Marine |
| Battalion: | HMHS Glenart Castle |
| Died: | 26th February 1918 aged 25 years |
| Death location: | At sea in Bristol waters. His body was never recovered. |
Life before the War
Arthur’s parents were Peter Swan Grant and Annie Young (b.1865); they had married in 1881 and lived at 192 Northumberland Road, Southampton. The census of 1901 shows Arthur living at this address with his mother and brother William (b. 1889).
The 1911 census records do not include Arthur but includes his Mother Annie and his sister Joyce Grant (b. 1906) still at the same address.
War Service
Arthur served on the Glenart Castle, a hospital ship. She was sunk on 26th Feburary 1918, 10 miles west of Lundy Island, by a torpedo fired from German U-boat UC-56 at 04:00 hours. She sank in 8 minutes with the loss of 162 including the Captain Bernard Burt. Only a few survived. The U-boat surfaced and continued to shoot at the survivors in the water. The body of an officer wearing a life jacket was recovered. Two gunshot wounds were visible, one in the neck and the other in the thigh – wounds that had been inflicted whilst he was in the water. After the war, the German Captain of the U-boat was arrested and taken to the Tower of London where he was charged with war crimes. He was however released on the grounds that Britain had no right to hold a detainee during the armistice. Arthur’s probate from 22nd November show that he left £124. 16s. 8d to Peter George Grant, Corporal RAF.
| Researcher: | Shaun Connolly |
| Published.: | 6th May 2014 |
| Updated: | Insert dates here |
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