Old Marlburian John Wallace Grant (B2 1954-59) died on the 21st August 2026, aged 85, in Warwick, with his wife Sally by his side. John grew up in the shadow of the Second World War; born in Gloucester in the midst of an air raid, John only met his father for the first time aged 4. Donald, his father, served in the Pacific Theatre during WW2 and only returned to Britain in late-1945 after years fighting the Japanese. In contrast to the atmosphere of wartime austerity in which he grew up, John was a great bon-viveur, lover of entertaining and fun.
After leaving Marlborough, where he was head of house and a keen sportsman, John studied engineering at Downing College, Cambridge between 1959 and 1962. After graduation he set up his own engineering business which he ran until his retirement almost forty years later.
Outside of his family, John’s great joy was golf – he served for some years first as captain and then president of Blackwell Golf Club in Worcestershire, and was a member of the Royal and Ancient of St Andrews. Through golfing friends in America, he achieved a lifelong ambition of playing at the Augusta National in Georgia. Another passion was sailing; John lived for many years in Bantham, Devon, where he kept a boat. He once sailed across the Atlantic in a small ship with just three other crew members.
John was a great reader and, perhaps because of his seafaring background, loved the novels of Patrick O’Brian and particularly Joseph Conrad; he named his engineering firm Conrad Construction in honour of the great Anglo-Polish writer. John was a lover of opera and ballet, a lifelong Wagnerian and a devotee of Shakespeare, having lived for several decades near Stratford-upon-Avon where he would often take his family to see plays at the RSC. At Marlborough, John was president of the school’s Shakespeare Society.
Sadly, John lived with Alzheimer’s for the last few years of his life but always maintained his customary good humour, joie de vivre and gift for hospitality. He would occasionally offer his carers or visitors a glass of wine – even if they’d come at 10am. He is deeply missed by his wife of 35 years, Sally, children Rupert, Camilla, Roland and Madeline, and grandchildren Jamie, Giles, Angus and Lily, as well as his many friends.
