Ian enlisted into the Manchester Regiment in the early days of the war but on gaining his commission joined The Gordon Highlanders, eventually volunteering for duty with the Commandos. However, illness saw him due for discharge, but somehow he was able to ‘persuade’ his Medical Board to allow him to continue serving. Not only that, but he also managed to engineer a transfer to the SAS, who at the time was tasked with parachute operations behind the German lines in France and other ‘special’ operations supporting the Allied advance.

Operation Rupert

Ian [aged 24] was one of eight members of the SAS who took off from RAF Fairford, Gloucestershire, onboard a Stirling Bomber IV LJ882 [L9-H] with a crew of five together with other aircraft of 190 Squadron on a special operation, code named 'Operation Rupert' to deliver SAS specialists, weapons and supplies to the French Resistance in France.

The weather conditions on the day were very poor. The Drop Zone was to be over the area of Joinville, France. However, because of the perilous weather the crew of the aircraft lost their bearings and to try and fix position descended to a lower altitude and in so doing the aircraft struck high ground to the west of Graffigny-Chemin killing all on board on Sunday 23^rd July 1944. The bodies were initially buried by members of the French Resistance at the crash site, but in 1946 they were exhumed and reburied with full military honours in a communal grave due to identification issues with the remains, but with separate headstones at Graffigny-Chemin Communal Cemetery.

Another aircraft flying the same mission, LJ894 suffered the same fate; lowering altitude to fix a navigation position and striking high ground with the loss of all crew.

Second son of John Leslie Grant & Ida Emily Grant of Oxton, Birkenhead, Cheshire

A copy of Ian's story is available for download here.

See also the Commonwealth War Graves Commission permanent digital memorial, ‘Evermore: Stories of the fallen’ relating to:-
First Lieutenant Ian Maxwell GRANT