Private Joseph (Joe) James
| Date of Birth | c.1898 |
|---|---|
| Age at Death | 20 |
| Date of Death | 2nd October 1918 |
| Service Number | 47141 |
| Military Service | Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers 2nd Battalion |
| Merton Address | 18 Queens Road |
| Local Memorial | Mitcham War Memorial |
Additional Information
Joseph (Joe) James born in 1898 was the second child for parents Joseph James (Snr) and Rebecca Smith. He was baptised on 18th Dec 1898 in the parish of Woodside at St.Lukes in Croydon. His father was listed as a Basket Maker and their address was given as “The caravan in the Fields”
In the census of 1901 Joe aged 2 and older sister Vertina aged 6 were living with their parents who were listed as travelling Gypsys in the Parish of Epsom at Longley Bottom.
By 1911 the family had settled at 18 Queens Road Mitcham. Joseph snr and his partner Rebecca now had four children. Vertina , Joe, Jack aged 4 and Mary aged one. Joseph (snr) was listed as a Hawker of flowers and the couple listed 7 children had been born to them and that 3 had died. Joseph (snr) appears to have been illiterate as he signs the census with a X.
Living close by were other family members of the James’s family. At number 35 Queens Road was Arthur James (brother to Joseph (snr)) and his partner Ocean Draper and their six children. Living at 8 Seaton Road, Mitcham was another brother, john and his wife Minnie James and there was also a Henry and Elizabeth James living at 54 Sibthorpe Road, Mitcham.
Young Joe was most likely to have been illiterate, having spent his earlier life travelling around Surrey, Kent and Essex. He possibly worked as a flower seller at Convent Garden along with his father and several of his uncles.
Joe was 16 when war broke out. Records show he enlisted in Kingston on Thames possibly in 1916 when he was aged 18 and conscription was introduced for all men aged 18-41.
Joe was killed in action on 2nd October 1918 aged 20. The war office paid his mother Rebecca, a war gratuity of £14 17shilling and 2 pence on 13th May 1919.
Joe is commemorated at the Dadizele Communal Cemetery in West Vlaanderen in Belgium and on the Mitcham war Memorial, along with two cousins, William James killed on 30th June 1916 and John James who was killed on 2nd August 1918.