John Grant (1826-1879)

John Grant (1826-1879) of the GWR

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1879 Obituary.

IT is with sincere regret that we record the death of Mr. John Grant, the assistant general manager of the Great Western Railway. This gentleman, who died on the 16th inst., was born at Forres in 1826. He entered the service of the Great Western Railway Company in March, 1848, at the age of twenty-one, as a clerk in the accountant's department, then under the charge of the late Mr. Pike. He made rapid progress in the department, and when the Great Western Company took over the Shrewsbury and Birmingham, and Shrewsbury and Chester lines, he was appointed to take the position of accountant of those lines, as separate accounts had to be kept.

Mr. Grant remained at Wolverhampton until September, 1863, when (Mr. Grierson, the then general goods manager having been appointed general manager) he was removed to London as goods manager of the Company. In 1871 he was appointed assistant general manager, which post he held in conjunction with that of goods manager until his death, which was startlingly sudden and unexpected.

He took a severe cold while in the country a fortnight since, which confined him to his bed for a couple of days. On Monday, the 10th instant, feeling better, and being anxious - as he always was - to be at his post, he went to his office, and again on the Tuesday, and there is no doubt that this exposure to the bleak March winds brought on the relapse which resulted in his lamented death. On the Wednesday he was unable to leave his bed; but serious results were not anticipated until Friday, when additional medical advice was sought. It was unavailing, however, and on Sunday morning he died.

Mr. Grant was a man of marked ability and of unwearying energy and perseverance. It was an unusual circumstance for a man to be promoted at one step from the accountant's office to the chief position in the most onerous of the traffic departments, and in the case of a less able man than Mr. Grant the step might have proved to be a mistake. The wisdom of the selection in his case was soon demonstrated, for no man could have more ably sustained the responsibilities of his post. Prominent railway officers are brought into frequent contact with the officers of other companies at the Clearing House and elsewhere, and, to hold his own with keen opponents, a railway official must have not only ability, and a perfect knowledge of his subject, but must be largely endowed with firmness and tact. These qualities Mr. Grant possessed in a marked degree, and he never failed to maintain the most cordial relations with those whom it was his business often to strenuously oppose. From his own staff he commanded, by his uniform, kind, and warm-hearted manner, the most willing and devoted service. He was always accessible even to the humblest in the company's employment, and to all their grievances he invariably lent a patient ear. Mr. Grant's loss will be severely felt in many ways, both by the company and his colleagues in the service. Probably there were few men connected with the railway service who have had a larger circle of friends, or whose death has caused more general and sincere regret. He leaves a widow and five children, to whom he was almost passionately attached.

The funeral took place on Thursday, the 20th instant, at Kensal-green Cemetery, in the presence of some 600 or 700 of the company's officers and the principal officials of other railways, including the London and North Western Great Northern, Midland, Great Eastern London and South Western, Western of France, &c., &c. The majority of the directors were also present, some of them following the funeral cortege from the residence of the deceased. The coffin was literally covered with wreaths of the choicest flowers and immortelles, some of which had been sent from long distances by the friends of the late Mr. Grant.

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