Introduction
Sir Wilfrid Vernon Grigson CSI (1896 - 26 November 1948) was a British soldier and civil servant.
Biography
Grigson was born in 1896 in the Vicarage at Pelynt to Canon William Shuckforth Grigson and Mary Beatrice Boldero, and was one of seven brothers, including Geoffrey Grigson, Kenneth Grigson and John Grigson. Five of the brothers died during the First and Second World Wars (the surviving brother being Geoffrey Grigson). Grigson was educated at Leatherhead before matriculating to Christ Church, Oxford.
During the First World War Grigson served as a Lieutenant in the Machine Gun Corps, serving in four different theatres of war. After the war he joined the Indian Civil Service and rose up through the ranks, serving as Deputy Commissioner of the Central Provinces and Berar. He was made a Companion of the Order of the Star of India, and in 1948 was knighted. On 26 November 1948 the plane he was travelling on crashed, killing all sixteen passengers and five crew.
Personal life
Grigson and his wife had two children: Christopher Grigson, a respected engineer naval architect, and Claudia, who later married Henry Chilver.