L/Corp W H James (1894 – 1916)

William Henry James was the son of Henry James, a gardener, and his wife, Mary. The family lived in Oldbury and, later, in Low Town.

After finishing school, William was apprenticed to a cabinet maker. During the war he joined the 1/6th Battalion Cheshire Regiment. He was killed in action on 14th November, 1916 during the Ancre phase of the battle of the Somme.

L/Corp James, 15005, was awarded the Victory and British Medals. His death was reported in the Bridgnorth Journal on 9the December, 1916.

KILLED IN ACTION
[Bridgnorth Journal 9th December, 1916]
Mr. Henry James, of 17 The Grove, Bridgnorth, received official notice from the War Office on the 26th November that his son 15005 Lance-Corporal William Henry James, 6th Cheshire Regiment, late 3114 2/4 K.S.L.I. was killed in action in France on 14th November. One of the soldiers, in a letter, says: “He was wounded on 13th November, when we made a successful attack on the German trenches. He and I were together in the 2/4 K.S.L.I. from 1914 till we were transferred to the 6th Cheshires. He was always cheerful and always smiling. It was with the greatest sorrow that I heard of his death. All the members of the platoon convey their deepest sympathy to you in your bereavement.”