ABSTRACT
One of the most important documents to become available to naval historians in recent years has been the memoir of Captain Alexander Grant who was the Warrant Officer in charge of the armament of HMS Lion before and during the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916. Following his appointment in command of the old destroyer Griffon, Grant had an arduous war engaged in anti-submarine patrol and escort work, first in northern waters and then the Irish Sea. After the war ended Grant briefly transferred to the destroyer Moorsom before transferring to RN Barracks Chatham from where he went to Yorkshire to keep the mines usable during the 1919 coal strike. Grant relished the opportunity to restore pre-war standards to an establishment that had got rather slack during the recent conflict. He was also responsible for the appointment throughout the service of Warrant Officer Gunners and those former Gunners promoted Lieutenant.
