Doctor Julius Grant
Dr. Julius Grant
Dr Julius Grant was born on 19th October 1901 in the East End of London. He was always interested in chemistry, He attended evening classes at Queen Mary's College, London, obtaining a degree in chemistry and then went on to take his doctorate at King's College, with the intention of eventually working in a laboratory.
In 1931 Dr Grant joined John Dickinson at Croxley Mills as one of the first qualified scientists to be employed by the British paper industry. It was soon after the discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb and on joining the company he was asked to analyse the material of the mummified king.
During World War Two, Grant used his expert knowledge in the properties of paper to develop specialist papers for war related activities. Secret agents working with M16 could benefit from messages sent to them on edible paper which once read could then be eaten! He also developed special paper for ration books that could not readily be forged.
After the war Grant joined a chemical forensic and analysts company, Hehner & Cox of Fenchurch Street, London,. Following the death of Cox he was appointed Managing Director, a post which he continued to hold into the 1980s. His expertise in the properties of paper became recognised throughout the world. He was frequently called upon to give his professional opinion on cases where the outcome was crucial in deciding important matters.
The following are examples of a few of these cases where his skills were used to scrutinise evidence submitted to determine an accurate conclusion, especially in paper related forgeries.
Grant was President of the Medico-Legal Society between 1973-75 and was known to have handled up to five hundred cases each year. He was also a prolific author, writing at least twenty eight books on his subject.
Dr Julius Grant was married twice and lived for thirty years (from 1966 until his death in 1991) on Friday Island - an island in the River Thames at Old Windsor, Berkshire on the reach above Bell Weir Lock, just short of Old Windsor Lock. The small island, whose shape is said to resemble the footprint of Man Friday in Daniel Defoe's 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe, contains a two-bedroom cottage.
Taken from
The Daily Telegraph obituary July 1991
Obituary of Julius Grant T. S. Shepherd
The Forensic Historian by Robert C Williams
In 1931 Dr Grant joined John Dickinson at Croxley Mills as one of the first qualified scientists to be employed by the British paper industry. It was soon after the discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb and on joining the company he was asked to analyse the material of the mummified king.
During World War Two, Grant used his expert knowledge in the properties of paper to develop specialist papers for war related activities. Secret agents working with M16 could benefit from messages sent to them on edible paper which once read could then be eaten! He also developed special paper for ration books that could not readily be forged.
After the war Grant joined a chemical forensic and analysts company, Hehner & Cox of Fenchurch Street, London,. Following the death of Cox he was appointed Managing Director, a post which he continued to hold into the 1980s. His expertise in the properties of paper became recognised throughout the world. He was frequently called upon to give his professional opinion on cases where the outcome was crucial in deciding important matters.
The following are examples of a few of these cases where his skills were used to scrutinise evidence submitted to determine an accurate conclusion, especially in paper related forgeries.
- The Great Train Robbery. Grant assisted in solving this infamous robbery in the 1960's
- In 1967 Grant was asked to investigate thirty journals allegedly written by Mussolini, the Italian dictator, and ally of Adolf Hitler. They were written in school exercise books and had previously been validated as authentic. Many 'experts' including Mussolini's son had declared them the original journals of the Italian dictator. Grant took just ten minutes to expose them as forgeries. The paper from one book said to have been written in 1925 contained straw pulp which had not been introduced into the paper making process until the 1950s. The mother and daughter who had produced them were initially given a prison sentence but they were later reprieved..
- The George Ince trial in 1974. Grant overturned the prosecution's evidence accusing Ince of the alleged murder of Muriel Patience at The Barn restaurant, Braintree, Essex
- In 1983 Rupert Murdoch, then owner of the Sunday Times, invited him to look at a set of diaries allegedly written during the 1930s by Adolf Hitler. Grant was given two volumes bound in black covers marked 1932 and 1935 and was asked to determine if they were authentic. He concentrated on the paper which is difficult to imitate. He moistened the edges of six pages and with a fine needle removed some of the fibres. These were placed under a microscope and the examination showed the paper was of a high standard re-cycled material. The composition of the pages was made up of chemical wood pulp, mostly coniferous. This type of paper had also been enhanced by bleaching techniques introduced long after the death of Hitler. Although they had previously been authenticated by three different examiners Grant declared them to be forgeries.
Grant was President of the Medico-Legal Society between 1973-75 and was known to have handled up to five hundred cases each year. He was also a prolific author, writing at least twenty eight books on his subject.
Dr Julius Grant was married twice and lived for thirty years (from 1966 until his death in 1991) on Friday Island - an island in the River Thames at Old Windsor, Berkshire on the reach above Bell Weir Lock, just short of Old Windsor Lock. The small island, whose shape is said to resemble the footprint of Man Friday in Daniel Defoe's 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe, contains a two-bedroom cottage.
Taken from
The Daily Telegraph obituary July 1991
Obituary of Julius Grant T. S. Shepherd
The Forensic Historian by Robert C Williams
