Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Grave: | Baghdad (North Gate) War Cemetery | XII. A. 15. | |
Awards & Titles: | British War Medal Victory Medal | ||
Early Life :
Born at Cwmavon, Glamorgan.Married Margarite Elizabeth nee Reeves at Leamington Spa 3rd April, 1899. They had two children: Crawford Lawrence Maynard (b.1904) and Laura Majorie Crane (b.1907).
He is cited as deceased father and as a mechanic on the marriage certificate of his daughter Laura, at her wedding in 1931.
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: Advanced Workshops M.T. ASC |
| Action : Mesopotamia |
At the outbreak of war the British, together with Indian troops, resolved to protect oil supply in the region by occupying the area around Basra at Abadan. This evolved into a series of campaigns towards Baghdad against the Turkish forces as Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) was part of the Ottoman Empire. Meetings in late 1914 and into 1915 led the Viceroy and Indian government at Simla to reconsider the limited involvement of troops and they decided to order further advances with a view to securing the Shatt-al-Hai, a canal connecting the Tigris and Euphrates river and potentially capturing Baghdad. The British government disagreed and wished to conserve forces for the Western front. The Viceroy was given permission to act as it wished, but told in no uncertain terms that no reinforcements should be expected.
The initial success experienced by the British and Indian forces quickly disintegrated in the face of Ottoman opposition. The Siege of Kut-Al-Amara began on 7th December with the besieging of an 8,000 strong British-Indian garrison in the town of Kut, 100 miles south of Baghdad, by the Ottoman Army. These campaigns produced few tactical benefits, indeed the catastrophic defeat at Kut in 1916 was a major setback. Badhdad was eventually taken in March 1917.
The conditions in Mesopotamia were dreadful. The climate, sickness and disease produced large losses in addition to battle casualties. About as many men died of disease as were killed in action. The Mesopotamia front was part of a strategy hoping for success at lower cost than the Western Front but no decisive victory was achieved.
As a Private he served in France disembarking there 31st August, 1915 having enlisted for service at Menai Bridge as a 42 year old married man, 28th May, 1915. He was joined to his first unit at Grove Park and by the end of 1915 he had been promoted to acting Corporal. Prior to the war he had been a Motor Mechanic, so it was for these skills that he was employed. He was posted with the 261st Company, Army Service Corps until September 1916, when he returned to home service for five months having been invalided for Gastritis and having suffered twice in the recent weeks from Influenza.
James is then mobilised as part of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force to Mesopotamia by mid-February 1917, leaving on HMS Marathon and arriving at Basra in May 1917. By June he was working for the Advanced Mechanical Transport Section, Army Service Corps and less than a month later he died in hospital at Basra of heatstroke on the same day he was admitted, 22nd July, 1917.
For his service in the Great War he was awarded the 1915 Star, as a Private, and the British War Medal and Victory Medal as an Acting Staff Sergeant.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | Anglesea No. 1113 E.C. | North Wales |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
6th January 1909 | 8th February 1906 | 3rd March 1906 |
Listed as a 35 year old Chauffeur (1909) in the records of the United Grand Lodge of England receiving his Grand Lodge Certificate on the 12th December, 1910. The contribution register records his war service 1915-17 which is followed by "Died 22nd July 1917." He had not been considered for the 1921 Book or 1940 scroll rolls of honour.
Source :
The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:
- The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- The (UK) National Archives
- Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
- ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry
Additional Source:
- Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
- Researcher : Bruce Littley