Donald I. Grant

[Robert Jan Leerink]

I'm interested to find out what happened to Lt. Donald I. Grant.

The reason is that the Dutch Stentor newspaper is intending to write a story about him and the CFPU.

Mr. Grant was a Canadian war photographer and part of the Canadian Film and Photo Unit (CFPU. He went
with the troops starting with D-Day and going all the way up through France
to Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany til the end of the war.
Germany in 1945.
I'm interested in finding out if he continued as a photographer, and what
happened to him.

If anyone here knows of him, or connects to him I would appreciate hearing
from you.

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

[Darrell Zinck]

Hi Robert

Nice photo of him and some general info on Canadian War Photographers:



http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/f...14-1000-e.html

Sandra Muys & Edwin Hamelink were asking about him on another Forum 10 years ago and there was some indication that he retired in the UK:

http://army.ca/forums/index.php?topic=18383.0

Not much but I hope some help to you.

regards
Darrell

[cletrac (RIP)]

Try getting hold of the guy who wrote this article.

[Robert Jan Leerink]

Thanx for tips, Donald passed away, 85 years old.
Interesting to know when.

[Robert Jan Leerink]

Donald I Grant in b/w and a coloured version.

[Darrell Zinck]

Hi

Based on that article in David's link, this may be the movie camera footage thatDonald Grant took at Saint-Lambert-sur-Dives :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMMX1fbzXww

regards
Darrell

[Robert Jan Leerink]

Don Grant was a still photographer so that would not be him behind the Bell & Howell. He took the picture.

[Robert Jan Leerink]

Following the D-Day invasion of 71 years ago, a survivor of that epic battle, only months later, captured a picture of victory that could, and should, stand out in the minds and hearts of all Canadians.

Not all of Canada remembers the D-Day invasion of June 6, 1944 or the ramifications of the bravery of our soldiers exactly 65 years ago, but we all thrive in the victory that was won that day. As Canadians, we tend to wear that victory quietly and not rally around any particular image of that victory. However, just as the United States of America has, for years, rallied around its iconic image of the US Marines raising the American flag on Iwo Jima, Canada, too, has such an icon of victory. Some might say it is sad that we, as Canadians, do not honour our iconic images that show the values that bring us to victory throughout the years.

As the icon to match the Iwo Jima icon, we have, pictured here a column of German soldiers and its young defiant German officer surrendering to a sergeant-major of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (B Company) and to Major David Currie of the 4th Armored South Alberta Regiment at St-Lambert-sur-Dive (on August 19, 1944), just a few months after D-Day.

Canadian army historian Col. C.P. Stacey states that this picture is "as close as we are ever likely to come to a photograph of a man winning the Victoria Cross." Major David Currie (pictured above standing on the left with handgun in his right hand) won the Victoria Cross for this very action. This famous picture was taken by combat army photographer Lt. Donald Grant of the Canadian Army Film and Photo Unit. Grant, a former civilian press photographer with the Windsor Star, shot this picture using a 3-1/4" x 4-1/4" Speed Graphic camera.


Grant relates, "We heard vehicles coming. We ducked off the road and along came a motorcycle and sidecar and an armored half-track full of soldiers--the advance party of a German convoy. They were captured and I got this picture. Before we got the prisoners and the vehicles out of the way the rest of the convoy came in sight, saw us and tried to retreat." Some of the soldiers escaped but most didn't. As Grant recalls, "There must have been a thousand prisoners taken that day and there were so few men with Currie that they couldn't send guards with the Germans. They just headed them back along the road to Trun and told them if they stepped off the road they'd be shot by our men in the hills."

That day Currie and his 115 men were out manned and outgunned by at least 10 to 1 but the Canadians prevailed and blocked the escape of the German Seventh Army. In the final assault that followed shortly after this--and nearby--an assault which secured the victory at Normandy, Major Currie personally destroyed one German tank and his battle group destroyed 7 tanks, 12 anti-tank guns and 40 vehicles. Over 800 German soldiers were killed or wounded and 1600 were taken prisoner.

There was an interesting follow up to this picture. The defiant young German officer (center-right) surrendering to the Canadian Sergeant-Major was never seen again after this picture. Years later, the German officer's mother saw a print of this famous picture and wrote to the Canadian Department of National Defense in Ottawa wondering what might have happened to her son. Sadly no one had any idea.


And what happened to Lt. Donald Grant, the photographer who captured this iconic image for all the world to see? Months earlier, on D-Day, Grant had come ashore with the Winnipeg Rifles in an assault landing craft. The assault craft hit a sand bar and Grant fell into the water. At that exact moment machine-gun fire swept the assault craft and most of the Winnipeg Rifle soldiers were cut down. That unintended dip in the water proved extremely lucky for Grant but not so for his main camera--Grant's main Speed Graphic camera was ruined after the dip in the water and he had to use a small camera (a Leica standard F.3.5 50mm lens) he kept as a spare (wrapped in oil silk and kept in his battle blouse-just in case) to shoot his photos on Juno beach that day. Later, at Carpiquet, Grant's driver was killed by mortar fire. While Grant was trying to get the driver's body hc was wounded in the leg by a mortar fragment. Lt. Donald Grant was awarded the Military Cross.

Not many people realize that Canadian army photographers were all trained like any other combat troops, carried light weapons and fought alongside regular Canadian troops.

The army recruited men such as Grant from the ranks of professional newspaper photographers all across Canada. Some soldiers who were considered to have the appropriate disposition for photography were taken from the army and were given courses at the famous Army School of Photography at Pinewood Studios in England and later transferred to the Film and Photo Unit. There were about 30 men in all in the Canadian Army Film and Photo Unit, a unit formed in 1941. Out of this small group, six members were killed and 18 were wounded during the Second World War. These photographers helped create a record of over 65,000 army negatives.

[Gordon Yeo]

Here is Saint-Lamber-sur-Dives from very close to the same spot it was photographed in 1944, taken in 2009. Had a bit of a clean up since '44.

[Robert Jan Leerink]

Does anybody have this picture in a higher resolution ? 1 mb / 300 dpi
Please mail to rjleerink@gmail.com.