POW Herbert died in hospital of influenza
The 23-year-old had been reported missing
THROUGHOUT the centenary of the First World War, we have been remembering the soldiers from the Loughborough area who lost their lives while serving their country. Here, with the help of Marigold Cleeve and a small number of researchers from the Loughborough Carillon Tower and War Memorial Museum, we look back at more of those who made the ultimate sacrifice in November 1918.
Percy Wall was born in Loughborough in late 1887 or early 1888 and baptised at All Saints Church, Thorpe Acre, on 24th August 1891.
He was the son of William Wall and his wife Mary Ann (née Brewin) who were married at Emmanuel Church, Loughborough, on 26th January 1884.
Percy’s father was a carter in 1891 but later became a general labourer.
Percy had two brothers John and William and two sisters Florence and Blanche. Another brother Theophilus died, aged 5, in 1899. In 1891 the Wall family lived at 8 Cradock Street, Loughborough, but by 1901 had moved to 51 Rosebery Street.
In late 1910 Percy, who was a general labourer at an electrical works, married Emma Pratt in Loughborough. Just before he was married Percy was charged with stealing cultivated mushrooms from Mr. A. F. Staniland and was fined 15 shillings and costs at Loughborough Petty Sessions.
After their marriage Percy and Emma initially lived at 29A Regent Street, Loughborough but then moved to Union Street. They had two sons William and Percy and a daughter Emma. Another son John died in infancy.
In 1911 Percy was fined 15 shillings for being drunk and disorderly in the Cattle Market and in July 1912 fined another 15 shillings for using obscene language in Bedford Square.
In October 1912 he was charged on remand for supposedly stealing a bicycle from Fred Price of Melton Mowbray for whom he was working at the time. The court, however, gave Percy the benefit of the doubt when he said he had only borrowed the bicycle and just fined him costs.
Percy enlisted soon after war broke out and joined the South Staffordshire Regiment as Private 15986.
He was sent for training in Saffron Walden, Essex, and dispatched to France to join the 1/6th Battalion on 24th August 1915. He arrived in the Ypres Salient just as the battalion finished a trench tour at Hill 60 and moved to Canada Camp.
In September the 1/6th Battalion spent a week in Brigade reserve at Zillebeke, completed two more trench tours at Hill 60 and also provided digging parties for the Royal Engineers.
On 2nd October the battalion marched to Abeele, entrained for Fouquereuil, and marched to Robecq for two days drill and training. Instruction continued at Vaudricourt and included practice in marching over open ground in fighting order.
On 12th October the men went into the assembly trenches north-east of Vermelles and on 13th October were ordered to take part in the capture of the Hohenzollern Redoubt and Fosse 8.
After the initial attack failed the battalion was withdrawn to Sailly Labourse and then Vaudricourt before being sent to Allouagne and Fouquereuil for further training.
Training continued for the first two weeks of November at Lestrem and Croix Barbée, followed by four trench tours at Neuve Chapelle with breaks at Croix Barbée. From 5th-24th December the battalion was inspected and underwent drill and other training at Pacaut and Le Pont à Balque.
On Christmas Day the battalion entrained at Berguette and travelled to Marseille where they transferred to Santi Camp. After spending a week on drill, inspections, learning rapid loading and bugle practice the battalion embarked on HMS Magnificent and sailed for Egypt on 2nd January 1916.
The battalion reached Alexandria on 8th January, entrained for Shallufa and camped on the East Bank of the Suez Canal. After constructing a fort in the desert north-east of Shallufa the battalion was ordered back to Sidi Bishr Camp, Alexandria. Six days later they embarked on the HT Transylvania for Marseille, arriving on 10th February. They then entrained at Arenc station for Longpré and marched to Vauchelles.
Training took place at Vauchelles, Baumetz and Atheux until 5th March. After this the battalion moved to Mont St. Eloi and began a series of trench tours at Neuville St. Vaast with breaks at Ecoivres.
Between 21st April and 4th May the battalion was in training at Monchy Breton and returned to the trenches at Fonquevillers on 12th May. Here they suffered from several heavy enemy bombardments. The remainder of May and the first half of June were spent at Sus St. Leger practising for an attack and providing working parties at Lucheux Forest and Humbercamps. Two more trench tours and working parties at Fonquevillers occupied the rest of June.
On 1st July 1916, the first day of the Somme Offensive, the battalion was ordered to take part in the attack on Gommecourt. Only one company managed to penetrate the enemy’s front line and the battalion had 239 casualties from its fighting force of 523. The remainder of the battalion was withdrawn to St. Amand and then to Brigade reserve at Berles-au-Bois.
For the rest of July until the end of October the battalion was on trench tours at Berles-au-Bois or was in Brigade or Divisional reserve at Bailleulmont.
Throughout November and until 9th December the battalion was training at Yvrencheux, Agenvillers, Le Souich and Pommier, after which they returned to the trenches at Bienvillers-au-Bois.
From mid-December 1916 until 5th March 1917 the battalion remained in the Bienvillers-au-Bois area, engaged on a series of trench tours with periods in Divisional or Brigade reserve at St. Amand, Pommier or Berles-au-Bois between tours.
During the trench tours the battalion was shelled and bombarded a number of times by the enemy.
On 11th March, after three days training at Pommera the battalion moved to Bayencourt and then to Biez Wood in reserve for an attack on Bucquoy.
The next move was to Hannescamps for salvage work in the trenches and the clearing of road barricades. On 23rd March the battalion began a nine-day transfer by march, bus and train to Auchy-au-Bois for training until 17th April.
On 18th April they went into the trenches at Liévin where they were heavily shelled and fired on by the enemy during an unsuccessful attack and suffered 40 casualties.
After a rest at Sains-enGohelle and five days in Brigade reserve at Red Mill, Angres, the battalion returned to the trenches in early May to be on the receiving end of an enemy gas shell attack.
From the 8th-18th May the battalion was in reserve at Sains-en-Gohelle for rifle and kit inspections, training and innoculations. Three more trench tours took up the remainder of the month during which the battalion supported a successful attack but incurred 38 casualties in 24 hours.
June included two trench tours, two periods in Brigade reserve at the Cité St. Pierre and a week in Divisional reserve at Bouvigny-Boyeffles for rest and training.
Towards the end of the month the battalion took part in an advance near Liévin, gaining ground up to the crest of Hill 65.
Following two days in Divisional reserve at Bully-Grenay they were again in action in a successful attack on the enemy defences west of Lens on 30th June and 1st July. Casualties, however, for June and 1st July were high, numbering 221.
On 2nd July the battalion travelled by bus from Les Brebis to Burbure where they rested and trained until 24th July. Training continued at Fouquières and Labourse until 3rd August.
From 3rd August 1917 to 24th January 1918 the battalion was in action in the Hulluch sector, with periods in reserve at Noeux-les-Mines, Verquin, Mazingarbe and Noyelles.
For nearly three weeks in September 1917 they were also attached to the 3rd Australian Tunnelling Company and the 466th Field Company of the Royal Engineers for pioneer work. While in reserve they undertook training, and enjoyed games of football as well as, on one occasion, a concert party by the Whizzbangs.
Christmas Day 1917 was spent in the trenches and the Germans were heard calling across ‘A Happy Christmas, Staffs’. In the evening the battalion moved into Divisional reserve at Noeux-les-Mines where over the next few days the men enjoyed a Christmas dinner and football matches.
On 29th December they returned to the trenches in the Hulluch left sub-sector.
During January 1918 the battalion completed three more trench tours in the Hulluch sector as well as another period in Divisional reserve at Noeux-les-Mines.
From 24th January until the end of February 1918 Percy’s battalion was based at Vaudricourt and Fontaine-lesBoulans for training. Between 1st and 6th March they moved via Auchy-au-Bois, La Miquellerie and Beuvry to Annequin and Le Preol for two trench tours in the Cuinchy sector.
On 27th March they transferred by bus and march to Columbia Camp, Souchez, before entering the trenches in the Lens sector. After a heavy gas bombardment by the enemy on 8th April the battalion was moved to Divion for rest, training, and sports. They also enjoyed two concert parties, one by the First Army and another by the Canadian Depot Machine Gun Corps Troupe.
On 17th April the battalion pitched camp by the railway embankment at Hallicourt and continued training.
On 24th April the battalion marched to Fouquières where, on the following day, they went into the front line and took part in some hard fighting over the Route A Keep.
On 1st May the enemy opened a gas shell bombardment for four hours resulting in heavy casualties among the men. On 2nd May the battalion headquarters was similarly hit, after which the battalion moved into reserve at Vaudricourt Wood.
Four trench tours followed, in the Essars and Gorre sectors, with breaks at Verquin and Vaudricourt Wood. On 16th May the enemy shelled the battalion’s billets at Verquin, causing considerable casualties.
On 21st May, while in the trenches at Gorre, the battalion was hit by a massive enemy bombardment of over 10,000 shells which resulted in 140 casualties.
From June until 4th September the battalion took turns in the front line and in support at Essars and Gorre, and in reserve at Verquin and Vaudricourt Wood.
The men also participated in battalion sports at Vaudricourt and Divisional sports at Bois de Dames near Marles-les-Mines as well as undergoing training at Hesdigneul.
On 5th September the battalion marched to Allouagne for training until 11th and on 12th September entrained at Lillers for Heilly where training continued.
On 19th September they moved by bus to a camp between Vraignes and Tertry and proceeded into the support lines at Le Verguier on 23rd September.
Here they were on the receiving end of an enemy barrage. On 27th September the battalion was in the front line at Jeancourt and on the following day moved up the the assembly position in preparation for an attack on the St. Quentin Canal.
On 29th September, under a heavy artillery and machine gun barrage the battalion crossed the canal and captured the village of Bellenglise. This action cost the battalion 226 casualties.
The battalion was in action again on 3rd and 4th October near Sequehart where they encountered strong enemy opposition. Not long afterwards, however, the enemy retired from Fresnoyle-Grand and the battalion was able to advance to Bohain and Riqueval Wood. By 18th October they were in the front line at Andigny-les-Fermés.
After being pulled back to Montbrehain for training from 24th October to 3rd November the battalion then pushed forward to St. Martin-Rivière, La Louvière and Le Sart to occupy Prisches and Cartignies on 6th November.
The point at which Percy became ill is unknown but he was taken to a hospital in Calais where he died, aged 30, from ‘sickness’, on 8th November 1918. He may have been a victim of influenza.
Percy was buried in Les Baraques Military Cemetery, Sangatte, Calais, Grave VI. E. 8A. Herbert Haywood.
Herbert Haywood was born in Loughborough in the summer of 1895 and baptised at All Saints Church, Loughborough, on 3rd January 1897.
He was the son of Herbert Haywood and his wife Alice Annie (née Bennett) who were married at All Saints Church on 25th November 1893.
Herbert Junior’s father was a hosiery machinery mechanic. Herbert Junior had three sisters Ethel, Alice and Elsie.
Between 1895 and 1901 the
Haywood family lived at 16 Duke Street, Loughborough. They later moved to 145 Burder Street and then to 9 Cross Street.
In 1911 Herbert Junior, aged 15, was an apprentice blacksmith.
Herbert Junior enlisted at Loughborough on 5th September 1914 and joined the Leicestershire Regiment.
From the Depot on 24th September he was posted to C Coy of the 8th (Service) Battalion as Private 14058 and sent to Aldershot for training. He moved to Shorncliffe in Kent at the end of February 1915.
In April 1915 Herbert’s battalion became part of the newly established 37th Division of Kitchener’s 2nd New Army and the Division began to concentrate on Salisbury Plain.
On 25th June the units were inspected by King George V at Sidbury Hill. On 22nd July the Division began to cross the English Channel and Herbert travelled to France on 29th July 1915. Initially the 37th Division concentrated near Tilques.
The 8th Battalion then moved via Watten, Houlie, St. Omer, Eecke and Dranoutre to Wulverghem and Berles-auBois, a short distance from the front line.
In the months that followed the 8th Battalion did tours in the trenches, alternating with the 6th Leicesters who relieved them. They were involved in operations in Bailleul, Le Bizet, Armentières, Mondicourt, Beauval and Berles-au-Bois.
In April 1916 Herbert had moved with the 8th Leicesters to the Doullens area for six weeks cleaning up, resting and training.
On 1st May he was admitted to No. 50 Field Ambulance with flu but rejoined his battalion four days later.
In mid-May they returned once more to the trenches in the Bienvillers-Bailleulmont sector, but nearer Gommecourt.
In June there was a series of nightly excursions into No-Man’s Land with patrols attempting to gather information on the enemy’s dispositions.
On other occasions there were working parties out repairing the British barbed wire entanglements. The situation became increasingly hazardous as the month wore on when the Germans began to use a new and more accurate type of trench mortar.
The 8th Battalion did not participate in the first days of the Somme Offensive but was held in reserve. On 6th July Herbert’s battalion left billets at Humbercamps and marched to Talmas, continuing on the following day to billets in Soues.
On 10th July the battalion marched to Ailly-sur-Somme, entrained for Méricourt and travelled from there by lorry to bivouacs in Méaulte.
Between 10th and 13th July the battalion was in the trenches near Fricourt and subjected to fairly continuous enemy fire.
On the 14th July the battalion was in action at the Battle of Bazentin Ridge.
After the battle the battalion withdrew to Ribemont and then to Méricourt, and having entrained for Saleux, marched to Soues. From Soues the battalion moved to Longeau, Gouy-en-Ternois, Lattre St. Quentin and then to Arras where they went into the trenches on 29th July.
Casualty figures for the battalion in July had been high: 17 officers and 415 other ranks had been killed, wounded or were missing.
The battalion went into Divisional Reserve at Agnez-les-Ouisans on 8th August but went back into the trenches at Arras on 18th August where they were on the receiving end of trench mortar bombs and heavy shells until 2nd September.
On being relieved the battalion marched via Duisans to rest billets at Lignereuil. On 13th September they marched to Frévent and entrained for Dernancourt.
On 15th they reached a point between Fricourt and Méaulte before proceeding to Trônes Wood on 16th.
From 17th-23rd September the battalion was in reserve and supporting the troops in the front line by providing carrying parties.
In the evening of 24th September the battalion marched up to take their position ready for an attack but before they reached this point the men were heavily shelled by the enemy.
Just after midday on 25th September the 8th Leicesters launched a successful attack in waves on the right of Flers and then pressed on to Gueudecourt. Considerable losses, however, were suffered in this action.
After Morval the battalion withdrew to Dernancourt, entrained for Longpré and marched to Pont Remy before transferring to the Hohenzollern Reserve, support and frontline trenches.
The battalion remained in the Hohenzollern sector, with breaks at Mazingarbe and Vermelles until 15th December when they marched to billets in the candle factory at Béthune.
From Béthune the battalion moved to Auchel where they remained until 26th January 1917 training. On 28th December the troops were entertained by a Lena Ashwell concert party.
From Auchel the men moved to Winnezeele to continue training in tactical manoeuvres before returning to Béthune and the front line trenches at Sailly Labourse.
In April 1917 the battalion moved to Hamelincourt and occupied the Outpost Line on the Hénin-Croisilles road until 13th April, then transferred to Bailleulmont for training before going into support at St. Leger.
On 3rd May the battalion took part in an attack on the village of Fontaine-lès-Croisilles where casualties were high. After the attack the battalion bivouacked at St. Leger before going back into the line on 9th May.
On 11th May the battalion marched to Berles-au-Bois for musketry training and practice in tactical schemes, brigade sports and inspections which lasted until the end of May.
On 1st June the battalion marched to huts in Hamelincourt for additional training in bombing and rifle grenades and field exercises until 7th June.
On the night of 7th/8th the battalion went into the trenches in the Hindenburg Line. From there they attacked the enemy on 15th June but were compelled to withdraw. They remained in the front line until 19th June when they returned to camp at Hamelincourt.
A period of rest at Blairville then lasted until 1st July, after which the battalion returned to Hamelincourt. On 9th July 1917 the battalion was in the trenches near Croisilles before going into Brigade Reserve.
After one more front line trench tour at Croisilles the battalion moved to Camp A at Moyenville for eight days training.
From 9th-17th August the battalion was in Brigade support in the forward area and provided working parties for the front line, after which they transferred to a hutment camp in Ervillers.
On 25th August the battalion moved by motor bus to Barly and from there, on the following day, marched to Ambrines. Two periods of training followed, firstly at Ambrines and then at Avesnes-le-Comte.
On 16th September the battalion marched to Savy, entrained for Caestre and went into camp for more training. On 23rd September the battalion began a series of moves, firstly to Meteren, then by bus to Hallebast before marching to Sint Hubertushoek and from there to Ridge Wood south-west of Ypres.
On 30th September they moved up to the front line at Polygon Wood.
On 1st October the enemy attacked the 9th Leicesters who were nearby and got possession of their front line. The 8th Leicesters went to assist but the enemy made repeated attacks. Counterattacks were hit by a heavy enemy barrage in the neighbourhood of Joist Farm.
On the night of the 2nd/3rd October the battalion was relieved and marched to Scottish Wood Camp. On 4th October the 8th and 9th Battalions of the Leicesters were amalgamated because of their high casualty rate.
On 5th October the combined battalion moved to railway dugouts at Zillebeke and on 7th they went into the front line.
The weather was very wet, the men suffered severely in the open trenches and shell holes and on 8th and 9th October 53 Ordinary Ranks were killed or wounded.
Relieved on 11th October the battalion moved to Anzac Camp where the combined battalion was restored to two units.
On 12th October the 8th Battalion entrained at Ouderdom station for Ebblinghem and marched to Le Croquet. From here three days later the battalion moved by motor lorry to the Gheluvelt area on the Menin Road for six days of cable trench digging.
The men worked under heavy hostile barrages, moving to and from the area under shellfire. Between 17th and 22nd October 86 Ordinary Ranks were killed, wounded or went missing.
Five days at Camp A, Kruistraat crossroads, for reorganisation and training followed, after which the battalion went into Brigade Reserve in railway dugouts south-west of Zillebeke Lake to work on cable trenches.
While moving into the front line on the night of 3rd/4th November the battalion suffered heavy casualties from a hostile gas shell bombardment and were withdrawn to Divisional Reserve at Camp A.
Between 9th and 16th November the battalion completed another front line trench tour as well as four days in the support trenches at Zillebeke Bund.
On 17th November they began a six-day march from Pioneer Camp near Scottish Wood to Coupigne for five days cleaning and reorganisation, and then marched to Monchy Breton.
On 30th November the battalion was suddenly ordered to entrain at Savy for Cambrai in order to reinforce the line there on account of a large scale German attack.
From Courcelles on 1st December the battalion moved into the support line and into the front line on the following day. Four more trench tours took up most of December and in between tours the battalion concentrated on improving the village defences of Epehy with barbed wire entanglements.
From Epehy, on 4th January 1918, the battalion moved back to Middlesex Camp, Heudecourt, in Brigade Reserve. Between 11th and 20th January the battalion was in training at Haut Allaines and working on wiring and tunnelling at Saulcourt.
Two more trench tours in bad weather when the sides of the trenches kept falling in completed the month.
February 1918 included trench tours at Epehy, ten days at Noislains for training, digging a fire trench near Gurlu Wood, work on new aerodromes at Cartigny and near Nurlu and digging the main line of defence near Pezière.
In early March it became clear that the enemy was preparing for a large-scale attack. On 21st March the Germans opened their Spring Offensive, advancing in formation and accompanied by a bombardment of every description.
The battalion, still in the neighbourhood of Epehy, suffered heavy casualties on the front line between 21st and 23rd March. On the night of the 23rd March the battalion moved into a position north-east of Cléry-sur-Somme but was forced into a further withdrawal on the following day when the enemy began an outflanking action.
After moving to Bray-surSomme, Chipilly, and then Bresle, the nucleus of the battalion moved to the chateau at Vadencourt while the remainder operated in the Bray-Chipilly-Morlancourt-Ribemont area. By 31st March the entire battalion, which had suffered 415 casualties since 21st March, was at rest in Allonville.
On 1st April the battalion entrained at St. Roch station, near Amiens, for Hopoutre and proceeded by lorry to Monmouthshire Camp, near Dranoutre. Between 4th and 9th April they moved via Kemmel Shelters Camp, Curragh Camp near Westoutre and Ontario Camp near Reninghelst to Manawatu Camp near Zillebeke Lake.
From 10th-13th April the battalion was in close reserve at Torr Top and Canada Tunnels before taking over the front and support lines for two days.
On 15th they were ordered to withdraw to Forrester Camp near the Ypres-Kruistraakhoek road but when this was shelled, moved to the trenches. Between 18th April and the end of the month the battalion valiantly defended a line of posts, covering gaps wherever the enemy broke through.
The month of May began with a two-day break at Buysscheure for seven days of training, after which the battalion entrained at Wizernes for Serzy-Savigny. Training continued at Aougny and then at D Camp, Chalons de Vergeur near Bouvancourt. On 20th May the battalion went into the trenches east of the Aisne-Marne Canal between Cauroy and Cormicy.
On 26th May the enemy began a heavy bombardment along the whole of the Aisne front and began penetrating the battalion’s trenches. On 27th May, during the 3rd Battle of the Aisne, Herbert went missing and was later found to have been taken as a Prisoner of War by the Germans.
Information was received via the British Red Cross that Herbert died, aged 23. on 9th November 1918 in hospital at Marche-en-Famenne, south-east of Namur, from ‘grippe’ i. e. influenza.
He was initially buried in a cemetery next to the hospital but his body was later exhumed and re-buried in Hautrage Military Cemetery, Hainaut, Belgium, Grave IV. A. 19.
Herbert is commemorated on the memorial in All Saints Church, Loughborough, and on the Carillon.
James Pearson.
James Pearson was born in Tansley, Derbyshire, in 1890.
He was the son of John Pearson and his wife Catherine (née Carr) who were married in the Belper registration area in 1876.
James’s father was a railway and general labourer. James had two brothers Charles and Arthur and two sisters Annie and Kate. Two other siblings had died in infancy.
When James was born the family was living at Golden Hill, Tansley, but by 1901 had moved to 27 Bolehill, Wirksworth, Derbyshire. After James’s father died in 1906 James, who was a cotton tape weaver, moved with his widowed mother to 6 Barnet Street, Macclesfield, Cheshire.
He later moved to 51 Hastings Street, Loughborough, possibly because his sister Annie and her husband Thomas Middleton lived there.
James enlisted in Macclesfield in November 1914 and joined the 1/7th Battalion of the Cheshire Regiment as Private 2809. He was sent to Northampton, Cambridge and then Bedford for training.
On 13th May 1915 the battalion became part of the 159th Brigade of the 53rd ( Welsh) Division of the Army and in July 1915 sailed from Devonport to Alexandria, Egypt, and then on to Gallipoli.
On 9th August 1915 the battalion landed on C Beach, Suvla, and immediately came under shellfire from the Ottoman forces. The battalion moved along the edge of the bay and was ordered to attack in the direction of a dip in the hills behind Anafarta Saghir. Nothing was said, however, as to where the enemy might be.
In the late afternoon a party of men reached a hedge and trench near Sulajik and were told to put the trench in a state of defence. The night was quiet apart from some enemy sniping.
On 10th August the battalion was ordered to attack Hill 70 with the other battalions of the 159th, 158th and 160th Brigades. The attack, however, was unsuccessful and James’s battalion suffered severely. A second attack was similarly unsuccessful. The Turks then attacked disguised at Gurkhas but were beaten off at some cost.
On 11th August the battalion moved further north to trenches which needed widening and improving and remained there until 26th August when they moved to a rest camp.
On 31st August they proceeded to the trenches at Sulajik where they remained until 20th September apart from four days rest at Anafarta Saghir. On 18th September the Turks bombarded the Allied lines in the area of Chocolate Hill but no attack followed.
From 20th-30th October the battalion was in Divisional and then Corps reserve on No. 1 Beach, Lala Baba. During this time the men were rearmed with short rifles and long bayonets.
At the beginning of November, the battalion, still in Corps reserve, was employed constructing defences at Lala Baba while being in a constant state of readiness to move if necessary.
During late November the Lala Baba defences were garrisoned nightly by a group of three officers and 100 men from the battalion.
On 27th November two companies of the battalion were attached to the Highland Mounted Brigade for trench duties in Brigade reserve.
The battalion’s other two companies were attached to the 1/4th Cheshires in Lala Baba. James’s battalion was evacuated from Gallipoli to Alexandria on 12th December but James, by this time, was no longer with them.
It is not known at what point James was evacuated from Gallipoli as his service record has not survived but he became ill, was taken to Alexandria and returned to England on a hospital ship.
He was admitted to Queen Alexandra’s Military Hospital, Millbank, London, SW1, on 18th December 1915 suffering from dysentery and a hernia. He was then moved to a convalescent camp at Eastbourne on 31st December 1915.
After he recovered James was transferred from the 1/7th Cheshires to the Royal Defence Corps as Private 74166.
The Royal Defence Corps (RDC) was a corps of the British Army formed in March 1916. It was initially formed by converting the (Home Service) Garrison battalions of line infantry regiments.
Garrison battalions were composed of soldiers either too old or medically unfit for active front-line service; the Home Service status indicated they were unable to be transferred overseas.
The role of the corps was to provide troops for security and guard duties inside the United Kingdom; guarding important locations such as ports or bridges. It also provided independent companies for guarding prisoner-of-war camps.
By April 1918 some 27,000 men were serving in the RDC. Of these, 14,000 were employed at prisoner of war camps.
The RDC consisted of two types of units, Protection Companies and Observer Companies. James joined No. 163 Protection Company, under the Northern Command of the RDC, but no records survive of where he was posted.
James died at the 5th Northern General Military Hospital, Leicester, on 10th November 1918, aged 28. He may have been a victim of influenza.
He was buried in Loughborough Cemetery, Grave 33-313.
James’s mother had died in the summer of 1916 in Macclesfield.
James is remembered on the memorial in the former St. Peter’s Church building, Loughborough, and on the Carillon.