Kenora Great War Project

 

Personal Details
Date of BirthMay 6, 1888
Place of BirthChristchurch, Hampshire
CountryEngland
Marital StatusSingle
Next of KinNoah James, Jasmin Cottage, Broadway, Dorset, England
Trade / CallingBaker
ReligionChurch of England
Service Details
Regimental Number439040
Service Record Link to Service Record
Battalion3rd Field Bakery
ForceCanadian Expeditionary Force
BranchCanadian Army Service Corps
Enlisted / ConscriptedEnlisted
Date of EnlistmentFebruary 22, 1915
Age at Enlistment25
Theatre of ServiceEurope
Prisoner of WarNo
Survived WarYes
Death Details
Date of DeathMay 5, 1939
Age at Death51
Buried AtRiverside Cemetery, Thunder Bay, Ontario
PlotSec 15 Plot 1227

James, Henry Edward

Henry Edward James (known as ‘Harry’) was born on 06 May 1888 in Christchurch, Hampshire, England.  He was the eldest son of blacksmith, Noah James and Augusta ELLEN Elliott.  His siblings included  Nellie ‘Ellen’ (b. 1887), Arthur Frederick (b. 1889),  Ernest Walter (b. 1891) Reginald Wilfred (b. 1896), Margaret May (b. 1897) and Winifred Maud (b. 1903).

Henry was educated in England and immigrated to Kenora, Ontario, Canada in 1911.  He gained employment as a baker at the flour mill in Keewatin. Two brothers, Arthur and Ernest followed him to Kenora.

With the outbreak of WW1, Ernest, Arthur and Henry all enlisted with the 52nd Battalion in Kenora. Ernest and Arthur signed up on 18 December 1914 and Henry joined on 22 December 1914. By June of 1915 the three brothers were in Port Arthur, Ontario for training.  Ernest and Henry headed overseas with the 2nd Reinforcing Draft of the 52nd Battalion on 04 September 1915, embarking from Montreal aboard the S.S. Missanabie.  Arthur was discharged from service on 22 October 1915 as he was declared medically unfit.

Ernest and Henry continued to train in England until March of 1916.  By this time Henry had gained the rank of Acting Corporal. Both brothers were transferred to the Canadian Army Service Corp and in March of 1916 were sent to France assigned to the #3 Field Bakery with Henry as a baker and Ernest as a helper.

Henry continued to work as a baker until February of 1919 when he returned to England.  He made his way back to Canada in May and received his official discharge from service on 15 May 1919 in Port Arthur due to demobilization. His rank at discharge was Corporal.

Henry remained in Port Arthur after the war.  In 1932, he and his brother Ernest visited England.  Travel documents indicate that Henry was still single at this time and working for the Department of Trade and Commerce.  Voters lists from 1935 show that Henry was a ‘government weigh man’, living in Port Arthur, still single. He made a pilgrimage to Vimy in 1936. Henry was active in numerous fraternal organizations and served on the executives of several sports leagues.

Henry died on 05 May 1939 in Port Arthur.

While Henry and Ernest both returned home from the war their youngest brother, Reginald Wilfred was not so lucky.  He had served as a private in the British Inniskiller Regiment and was killed in action on 25 Jun 1918.

James-Henry-Edward-2 James-Henry-Edward-3 James-Henry-Edward-4 James-Henry-Edward-5 James-Henry-Edward-6 James-Henry-Edward-7 James-Henry-Edward-8

Obituary courtesy of the Thunder Bay Public Library. Grave marker photograph provided by Linda Piilo, findagrave.com.

 


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