Edward Grain
GRAIN, Edward Metcalfe RE (1827-1884)
Edward Grain was born on Gibraltar on March 29, 1827. He was the son and fifth child of Royal Engineer Commissary General, Thomas Grain and wife, Susannah Grain (nee Irwin). In 1832, the family were still living on Gibraltar, but by 1841 they had moved to Melcombe Place, St Marylebone, London, where the 14 year old Edward lived with his parents.
On May 1, 1846, 19 year old Edward Grain received his commission as second lieutenant in the Royal Engineers at Woolwich. From 1847 to 1848 he was stationed on the Isle of Guernsey. He served almost five years in the West Indies from 1848 to 1852, and from 1854 to 1855 he fought in the Crimea war at Alina and Inkerman. On April 1, 1859 he had been promoted to Captain.
On June 19, 1855 Grain married Elizabeth Mary Cock at Alverstoke, Hampshire. They had eight children of whom two were born in Western Australia.
Captain Grain, his wife and two children arrived in Western Australia on the Sultana On August 19, 1859 along with 224 convicts. Grain was to be Commanding Royal Engineer, responsible for the oversight of all Public Works constructed in the colony. He was busy with inspecting roads, bridges, buildings and other works; in 1861 he estimated that he had ridden 7,000 miles on horseback since arriving in the colony.
Grain was also responsible for designs of both convict built structures and all public works. With Royal Engineers Lieutenant Thorold and Lieutenant Sims he designed lighthouses, schools, jetties and roads. In 1863, just before he returned to England, he jointly designed the 954 foot long North Fremantle Bridge with James Manning. The bridge needed to have 42 feet of clearance to allow ships to travel on the Swan River. The Bridge was completed in 1866, after Grain had left the colony.
Grain left the colony with his wife on the S S Madras on March 2, 1863 to return to England. He later travelled to Hong Kong, to be Commanding Royal Engineer of Hong Kong and China. He arrived in Hong Kong in 1871 and remained until 1874. From 1875 to 1877 he was the Commanding Royal Engineer at Pembroke Dock in Wales with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. From 1877 to 1891 he was the Commanding Royal Engineer at Gravesend, Kent, England.
Grain retired from the army with the honorary rank of Major General on October 19, 1881. He died at Gillingham, Kent on June 13, 1884, survived by his wife.
References:
Graham McKenzie Smith, Sappers in the West, Royal Australian Engineers Association of Western Australia, Balga, 2015
John Le Page, Building a State, Water Authority of Western Australia, Leederville, 1986
https://sappers minerswa.com/officers/grain-edward-metcalfe/ accessed January 7, 2020 (specific link is no longer working but the site has useful background information)
