Richard Henry James was born on 6 February 1894.

Unfortunately, it has not been possible to confirm any records of him or his family prior to the war.

Shortly after the war (in the autumn of 1920), Richard married Ethel May Bryan in Neath and they had 2 children, Melita May James, known as Maisie (born 1921, and who went on to marry another James) and Richard Bryan James (born 1924).

By the time of the 1939 census, the family (Richard, Ethel and their children) were living at 20 Zoar Row, Neath and Richard was listed as a Heavy Worker (Constructional Masons Labourer).

Richard Henry James passed away in July 1945 at the age of 51 in Neath.

His Grand-daughter recollected that: he died in 1945 whilst my Dad was away serving in the Navy in 2nd World War. My Dad was really upset and didn’t really talk much about it, but he used to take me and my sister to his grave regularly when we were young.

Richard Henry James enlisted as a Gunner in the 1st Welsh (Howitzer) Brigade in April/May 1914 and was given the service number 826. Unfortunately, his service record has not survived, but using the surviving scraps of information available, it is possible to piece together much of his service.

Gnr James would have been attending his first Summer Camp on Salisbury Plain when war was declared in August 1914. They quickly returned to Swansea where he, along with the rest of the Brigade, was mobilised for War.

Shortly after, the Brigade travelled to Shrewsbury for around 3 weeks and then moved to Northampton where they trained until they moved to Cambridge shortly before Christmas 1914. The Brigade moved again in May 1915, setting up camp in Bedford with the rest of the Welsh Division.

A single photo of him, with some of comrades, has survived from this period.

Gnr James’s Medal Index Card confirms that he, along with the rest of the Brigade, travelled from Southampton to Le Havre on 22 November 1915. From there they moved to the Somme area, where they underwent further training, including a period in the front-line South-East of Albert (an area that marked the southern edge of the Somme battlefield just 6 months later).

Just before Christmas 1915, the Brigade withdrew from the front-line and in January 1916, received orders to rejoin the rest of the 53rd Welsh Division in Egypt.

Whilst no records have been found that confirm Gnr James went to Egypt, to date no men have been found who travelled to France on that date and did not continue to Egypt. It is therefore likely that he travelled from Marseilles to Alexandria in February 1916 and served in the Egyptian Expeditionary Force.

Given that he was also given a new service number in 1917 from a batch of numbers associated with the Brigade, it is likely that he remained with the Brigade throughout the Egypt campaign, being involved in Suez Canal Defences (1916), the 3 Battles of Gaza and march into Jerusalem (1917) and the subsequent push through Palestine and the Judaean Hills until the defeat of the Turkish Armies (1918).

His Grand-daughter also recollected when I was about 7 years old, I remember my Dad showing me a crucifix one day packed away in his wardrobe. He told me it had come from Jerusalem. It was about 6-8 inches tall and carved.

For his service in the Great War, Gunner Richard Henry James was awarded the 1914/14 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal.