12217 L/CPL William Henry Grant

12217 L/CPL William Henry Grant born in 1876 in Colombo, Ceylon, India, fathers name James Grant, stepmothers name Sarah Jane Grant, he had 5 brother’s, 1 sister and a half sister, occupation Collier worker, he was 5 foot 4 inches, weight 132lbs, eyes grey, hair brown, he was unmarried. Residence unknown.

William had been in the Army before WW1 started, he first enlisted at the age of 14 years in the Cheshire Regiment, the 1891 census had him registered as a boy soldier, there is no date as to when he was discharged.

William enlisted on the 21/10/1914 in Chester; he was 38 years of age. Part of his Military Service Records is as follows:

Home 21/10/1914- 12/01/1915 (home means in Britain). He was promoted to L/CPL (Lance Corporal) on the 16^th December 1914. Embarked for France on 13^th January 1915, joined his battalion on the 14^th January in the field, he was killed on 8^th May 1915 in Belgium; his body was never found he is remembered on panel 19-22 on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial.

William’s brother John Arthur Grant of 132 Whitehead Road, Aston Manor, Birmingham received his medals on the 7^th March 1921.