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Admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
Sir Heathcoat Salusbury Grant, KCMG, CB (13 February 1864 – 25 September 1938) was a Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
officer who served during the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, most notably as the captain of HMS ''Canopus''.{{Cite news , date=27 September 1938 , title=Admiral Sir Heathcoat Grant , pages=14 , work=The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
Biography
Early life and career
The son of Captain John Grant, ofGlenmoriston
Glenmoriston or Glen Moriston ( gd, Gleann Moireasdan) is a river glen in the Scottish Highlands, that runs from Loch Ness, at the village of Invermoriston, westwards to Loch Cluanie, where it meets with Glen Shiel. The A887 and A87 roads pass th ...
, Heathcoat Grant entered HMS ''Britannia'' as a cadet in July 1877, placing thirty-seventh out forty-six successful candidates. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1887, commander in 1899, and captain in 1904. He was naval attaché in Washington, D.C.
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from 1912 to 1914.
First World War
At the outbreak of theFirst World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Grant was appointed in command of the pre-dreadnought battleship HMS ''Canopus'', which was sent to the Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...
to reinforce Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...
Christopher Cradock's squadron. Cradock had initially intended to take ''Canopus'' with his squadron, but left her behind due to her slow speed and need for overhaul; an order from the First Sea Lord that Cradock should not risk engaging Maximilian von Spee
Maximilian Johannes Maria Hubert Reichsgraf von Spee (22 June 1861 – 8 December 1914) was a naval officer of the German ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy), who commanded the East Asia Squadron during World War I. Spee entered the navy in ...
's squadron without ''Canopus'' arrived after Cradock had already sailed.
After Cradock's squadron was destroyed at the Battle of Coronel by von Spee, ''Canopus'' was assigned to defend Stanley Harbour, and fired the first shots at the Battle of the Falkland Islands, when von Spee's squadron was destroyed.
In 1915, ''Canopus'' took part in the Dardanelles Campaign, for which Grant was appointed a CB.
Grant remained in the ''Canopus'' until 1916
Retirement and later life
Grant was promoted to vice-admiral on 25 March 1920 and was retired the following day. In 1923, he published his recollections of his time in command of ''Canopus'' in '' The Naval Review.'' He was promoted to admiral on the retired list on 8 May 1925.References