Died: 27 March 1917
Age: 19
Arthur Berteau Grellier, son of Albert Francis Grellier (OV 1875-1879), was born at St. Helier, 28th March 1898. He entered College in 1910, leaving in 1915. During his four or five happy years of school life he developed talents for Mechanical Drawing, Mapping and Mathematics.
He was a first-rate bugler in the OTC. He also became a proficient organist, an accomplishment which served him later both in civilian and military life. Having natural gifts for engineering, he was articled to the Great Western Railway Company and began his apprenticeship at Swindon.
He joined up under the Derby scheme during the winter of 1916-1917 and later was attached to the Artists Rifles at Romford. The physical training of the army developed latent powers, and he finished second out of a field of 300 in a 4½ mile cross country run. In August 1917, he was gazetted to The Lancashire Fusiliers, and after a brief period at Withernsea went out to France.
He soon saw fighting and was present at Paaschendaele. When the great German offensive was in progress, he was attached to a Reserve Division of General Gough’s Army, which was covering the road to Amiens. On the morning of 26th March 1918, a Division of Brandenburgers attacked their trenches at Vauvillers, seven miles south of Peronne, but were repulsed. On the following morning, the Germans attacked again under a smoke screen, and in the fighting as many as twenty-four officers of the Battalion fell, of whom Grellier was one.
The above text appeared in the Victoria College Book of Remembrance which was published in 1920.
The link to the Channel Islands Great War Study Group website is:
http://www.greatwarci.net/honour/jersey/database/grellier-ab-pozieres.htm
