Charles James William Grant

With only eighty men, limited ammunition and no artillery, Charles James William Grant advanced into Manipur, captured an entrenched position and held it for eight days against a force estimated at approximately 2,000. His leadership during the capture and defence of Thobal earned him the Victoria Cross and the enduring title “Hero of Manipur.”

Charles James William Grant was born at Bourtie, Aberdeenshire, on 14 October 1861. The son of Lieutenant-General P. C. S. St John Grant, he was educated privately and at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He received his commission as a lieutenant in the Suffolk Regiment on 10 May 1882 and transferred to the Madras Staff Corps in 1884. Grant first served as a wing officer with the 5th Madras Native Infantry and was attached to the 12th Madras Native Infantry during the operations against King Thibaw in Upper Burma between 1885 and 1887.

In March 1891, the British political and military position in Manipur collapsed after senior officials were captured and murdered. Grant was commanding a detachment at Tammu, approximately sixty miles from Manipur, when news of the disaster reached him. Believing that British prisoners might still be alive, he volunteered to lead a relief force consisting of thirty men of the 43rd Gurkha Rifles and fifty men of the 12th Madras Infantry. The small column departed on 28 March and encountered opposition almost immediately.

On 31 March, Grant’s force reached Thobal and came under heavy fire from concealed defenders across a river. Grant reorganized his men and advanced through alternating rushes until they crossed the watercourse and stormed the enemy trenches. Approximately 800 Manipuri troops were driven from the position. Grant then fortified the captured ground, but the following day a much larger force surrounded his men and opened fire with rifles and artillery.

For the next eight days, Grant maintained the defence despite dwindling ammunition, sickness and repeated attacks. He frequently led small parties outside the perimeter to disrupt enemy concentrations before they could assault the position. During negotiations, he also convinced the Manipuris that his detachment was merely the advance guard of a much larger force, helping to delay a concentrated attack. When ordered to withdraw on 9 April, he successfully brought his men out and joined approaching reinforcements.

Grant immediately returned to operations with the advancing Tammu Column. At Palel on 13 April, his horse was shot while he pursued the enemy. On 25 April, he helped lead an attack against a fortified position near Langatel. During the fighting he was struck by a bullet that passed through the base of his neck above the shoulder. Although badly wounded, he reloaded his revolver, regained his feet and remained involved until the position had been taken.

The Victoria Cross was gazetted on 26 May 1891. The official citation recognized Grant’s conspicuous bravery in volunteering to attempt the relief of the captives, capturing Thobal and holding it against a far larger enemy force while inspiring his men through personal courage and resourcefulness. The Governor of Madras, Lord Wenlock, presented the decoration to Grant at Ootacamund on 6 July 1891.

Grant received a brevet promotion to major and later held senior appointments in the Indian Army. He became a lieutenant-colonel in 1904, commanded the 89th Punjabis from 1906 and served as commandant of the 92nd Punjabis between 1907 and 1911. After retiring in 1913, he returned to military service during the First World War as a draft-conducting officer attached to the 3rd Battalion, Royal Scots. His final medal group comprised the Victoria Cross, India General Service Medal with the clasps Burma 1885–7 and N.E. Frontier 1891, 1914–15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.

Colonel Charles James William Grant died at Sidmouth, Devon, on 23 November 1932, aged 71. His reputation rests on more than numerical odds. At Thobal he combined personal bravery, tactical aggression, deception and disciplined leadership to preserve a small force that might otherwise have been overwhelmed.