He was educated at Brighton Grammar School and Ormond College at the University of Melbourne, graduating with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering (BCE) in 1893.

[citation needed] He worked in railway construction in New South Wales but after his father's death in 1894 he became a pastoralist, purchasing Bowenville Station on the Darling Downs in Queensland in 1896.

On 14 February 1917, Grant led the 11th Light Horse out from Serapeum on a mission to sweep the remaining Turkish troops from the Sinai Peninsula.

Lieutenant General Harry Chauvel ordered Grant to attempt a mounted attack on Beersheba, his goal being to take the town wells before they could be destroyed.

Wielding their bayonets like swords, they moved forward at a trot while the 13-pounders of the British Notts Battery suppressed Turkish machine guns.

Grant initially rode in the lead, but dropped back to the reserve line once the column was headed in the correct direction so as to control their subsequent movements.

For his part, Grant was personally decorated with a Bar to his DSO by the commander-in-chief, General Sir Edmund Allenby, the next day.

The light horsemen fought hard but the Turks subjected them to fierce artillery and machine gun fire, and were able to drive them from their positions.

In his final campaign, Grant was ordered to capture the town of Semakh, on the southern shores of Lake Tiberias.

With only half his brigade available, Grant surprised the defenders with a quick night approach and a moonlight assault with drawn swords.