In Remembrance of William James West

William James West 1898 - 1918
Image from the family collection of Julie Goucher

As we commemorate the beginning of the Great War. Today I am remembering my Grandfather's first Cousin, William James West (1898 - 1918).

The Lives of the First World War is using the twitter tags of #LivesofWW1 and #remember

I have written about William before, and you can read those earlier posts at the various links below.

• Lives of the First World War
• In Remembrance of William James West (2011 post)
• Sepia Saturday 178 - Eyes, windows to the soul (2013 post)

William's life was tragically cut short just two months before the war ended. He paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Rest in Peace William, knowing that we honour your sacrifice.

Remembrance Day Photo Collage - Day Four

Yesterday I shared the photograph of William Arthur West. With the photographs I was given was two photographs that contained people that are not as far as I know connected to the family. 

The man sitting down is William Arthur West, the young boy standing along side him is unknown. 

This was taken during the Boer War (1898-1902)

Remembrance Day Photo Collage - Day Three

William Arthur West was born in 1863 in Guildford. I became aware of him through the his marriage to my Grandfather's Aunt - Emma Jane Ellis (Harris). They married in 1897 and raised two children. A son called William James born 1898 in Aldershot Hampshire and a daughter, Clara Edith born 1901 in Aldershot. I commemorated William James in yesterday's post.

I knew from my Grandfather's cousin that William Arthur had been a military man and made an earlier assumption, at this point I had not researched his military life, that he had been in the Boer War. I was then presented with some photos:

William Arthur is the second from the right in the back row.

This photo was taken during the Boer War. William was already in the Army, serving in the Medical Corp by the time of the Boer War. He joined in 1878 and spent time abroad during the Zulu Wars and the Afghan Wars. His wife accompanied him and died in Zululand in 1894 and her death certificate is below. He remarried to his Cousin in 1897 and they subsequently had two children, as I mentioned above.

I love the sign "Den of Terror"!

By chance I did a Google search on William Arthur. I have never come across anyone researching this family outside of my immediate family so what happened to William and Clara. I also wanted to know more of William Senior. I did know that after leaving the military he owned a sweet shop in Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire.

The Google search revealed an interesting website article, although a recent search does not show the article, which is a great shame. Anyway, the article looked at my William Arthur West from the perspective of the community in which he lived, Stony Stratford. The article provided a few clues which I had not been aware of, and I used this as a springboard for further research and to fill in a few gaps into William's earlier life.

I had already been in contact with the author of the article. I had a reply and was delighted to hear that they had quite an archive of material relating to my ancestor. I was invited to come and look at the article. I replied that given the distance it would not be until our next trip north of here and I was really surprised when I was offered the opportunity to receive the archive in the post for my perusal and copying. In due course the file arrived and I managed to copy the entire archive and return with some extra material by tracked post. That is one of the things that I love about genealogy, it is the genuineness of fellow researchers.

Remembrance Day Photo Collage - Day Two

William James West was born in Aldershot Hampshire in 1898, the son of William Arthur West, a military man and, Emma Jane Ellis (Harris).

I had always known that my Grandfather's first cousin had died in the First World War, and then I was presented with a photograph of William, such a handsome young man! The moment I saw that photograph I wanted to know all I could about William.

Private William James West served with the 1st Battalion Cheshire Regiment. He is Commemorated at: Ligny-Sur-Canche British Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France. He died of wounds on 5th September 1918, aged just 20 years.

He is commemorated on the War Memorial at Stony Stratford Buckinghamshire, where his parents, William Arthur and Emma Jane West lived & ran their newsagents business at 63 High Street.

I submitted the details for William James to the First World War Digital Archive whilst material could be submitted. As I wanted to further preserve the details of William.

William James had two army numbers and was Private T4/212898 William James West, Army Service Corps, and later was 51275, 1st Bn. Cheshire Regiment. His T4 Army Service Corps prefix indicates he once served in transport.

As I said I submitted his details to the Digital Archive and they further spotted a detail I had not known about the photograph, as he is rather oddly, pictured above wearing a 'lamb and flag' cap badge, relevant to neither unit he was known to have served in, (unless he served for a time in the small Army Service Corps Armoured Car Companies, recruited from transport personnel. Their 'Light Armoured Motor Batteries', operative in Palestine, wore a similar badge unofficially).

Bombing during the Second World War destroyed some of the records from the First World War.

I was lucky, in that William James's record survived and is a total of 24 pages detailing when he enlisted, his service and which regiment he was attached to and then, finally his gun shot wound to the chest leading to his death in 1918, just months before the war ended.

I have downloaded a copy of his Service Record and have just noticed a mention of the Devonshire Regiment that I had been unaware of.

His medal card, confirms what medals his family were entitled to claim after his death and this corresponds with the Service Record.

May he rest in peace and know that even though he paid the ultimate sacrifice he is still firmly in the heart of his family.

Sepia Saturday 178 - Eyes, windows to the soul

The moment I saw this week's theme I knew exactly what photos I was going to share.

The two photographs are of the same lady, Emma Jane West nee Ellis. Emma Jane was the daughter of Henry and Caroline Harris nee Ellis and was born to the couple just after they married in October 1864.

The first picture (left) shows Emma Jane as a young woman. There is something very appealing with this photograph. Emma Jane married her Cousin William Arthur West, a widower in 1897 and I think this photograph dates from around that time.

The second photograph is of Emma Jane around the period of the end of the First World War. Emma is wearing a locket with a photograph of her son, William James West born in 1898. William sadly died in France in 1918 just two months before the First World War ended. If you look very carefully, you can just make out the picture of William James.














Incase, though you can not see the photograph clearly of William James, here is is. This photograph dates from before William sees the horrors of France. He was so young.















Taking part in Sepia Saturday

In Remembrance of William James West (1898 - 1918)

In Remembrance of William James West

William James West was born in Aldershot Hampshire in 1898, the son of William Arthur West, a military man and, Emma Jane Ellis (Harris).

I had always known that my Grandfather's first cousin had died in the First World War, and then I was presented with a photograph of William, such a handsome young man! The moment I saw that photograph I wanted to know all I could about William.

Private William James West served with the 1st Battalion Cheshire Regiment. He is Commemorated at: Ligny-Sur-Canche British Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France. He died of wounds on 5th September 1918, aged just 20 years.

He is commemorated on the War Memorial at Stony Stratford Buckinghamshire, where his parents, William Arthur and Emma Jane West lived & ran their newsagents business at 63 High Street.

I submitted the details for William James to the First World War Digital Archive whilst material could be submitted. As I wanted to further preserve the details of William.

William James had two army numbers and was Private T4/212898 William James West, Army Service Corps, and later was 51275, 1st Bn. Cheshire Regiment. His T4 Army Service Corps prefix indicates he once served in transport.

As I said I submitted his details to the Digital Archive and they further spotted a detail I had not known about the photograph, as he is rather oddly, pictured above wearing a 'lamb and flag' cap badge, relevant to neither unit he was known to have served in, (unless he served for a time in the small Army Service Corps Armoured Car Companies, recruited from transport personnel. Their 'Light Armoured Motor Batteries', operative in Palestine, wore a similar badge unofficially).

Bombing during the Second World War destroyed some of the records from the First World War.

I was lucky, in that William James's record survived and is a total of 24 pages detailing when he enlisted, his service and which regiment he was attached to and then, finally his gun shot wound to the chest leading to his death in 1918, just months before the war ended.

I have downloaded a copy of his Service Record and have just noticed a mention of the Devonshire Regiment that I had been unaware of.

His medal card, confirms what medals his family were entitled to claim after his death and this corresponds with the Service Record.

May he rest in peace and know that even though he paid the ultimate sacrifice he is still firmly in the heart of his family.

Carnival Of Genealogy 116 - Picture/Story for Women's History Month.

This pretty young woman is my Great Great Aunt, Emma Jane Harris, although she was born to her parents just before they married!

Emma Jane was born on the 1st November 1864 in Puttenham Surrey the daughter of Henry Harris and Caroline Ellis who were to marry on 3rd December 1864 and raise together a family of 10 children.

Emma married her cousin, William Arthur West in 1897. William was a soldier who had seen service in the Zulu Wars in which he had lost his first wife and young babe.
So I can imagine the emotions felt by both Emma and William as they married.

They were blessed with two children, a son, William James born in the military town of Aldershot in 1898 and Clara in 1901.

By the time of the First World War, William Arthur had left the services and had set up a newsagents business in Stony Stratford on the Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Borders. His son William James though, followed in his father's footsteps and joined the Army. I am sure that both his parents were proud of their son and the contribution he was to make. We know that prior to his departure to France he had his portrait taken and his mother treasured it. As it appears as a pendent in the following photograph.

Sad to say that amongst that proud parental feeling was deep sadness, as their only son paid the ultimate sacrifice. This is such a sad photograph, and Emma has such a haunted look. I simply wish I could move into the photograph and give her such a hug, but alas that is not to be.

It seems completely correct that I end this post with a photograph of Emma's only son, who died, aged just 20 years, only two months before the end of the First World War.

Carnival of Genealogy is hosted by Jasia at CreativeGene

Lest we Forget.....William James West

Just joining the new weekly 100 words challenge for Grown ups and a straight prompt which is below. For more details click HERE

lest we forget.....

I look at the photograph of a young, handsome man. There is something about that image that urges me to find out about his short and purposeful life. 

He was just 20 years old when he paid the ultimate sacrifice. 

His war record shows that he perished from a gun wound to the chest at 43 casualty clearing station in France. I can not help but wonder, was he alone? was he in dreadful pain? I suspect that deep down I know those answers. 

That makes me very sad. Although he has been gone 93 years, he is not forgotten.

For more details about William James West click HERE

Taking part in the 100 word Challenge for Grown Ups – Week #18

In Remembrance of William James West (1898 - 1918)

In Remembrance of William James West

William James West was born in Aldershot Hampshire in 1898, the son of William Arthur West, a military man and, Emma Jane Ellis (Harris).

I had always known that my Grandfather's first cousin had died in the First World War, and then I was presented with a photograph of William, such a handsome young man! The moment I saw that photograph I wanted to know all I could about William.

Private William James West served with the 1st Battalion Cheshire Regiment. He is Commemorated at: Ligny-Sur-Canche British Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France. He died of wounds on 5th September 1918, aged just 20 years.

He is commemorated on the War Memorial at Stony Stratford Buckinghamshire, where his parents, William Arthur and Emma Jane West lived & ran their newsagents business at 63 High Street.

I submitted the details for William James to the First World War Digital Archive whilst material could be submitted. As I wanted to further preserve the details of William.

William James had two army numbers and was Private T4/212898 William James West, Army Service Corps, and later was 51275, 1st Bn. Cheshire Regiment. His T4 Army Service Corps prefix indicates he once served in transport.

As I said I submitted his details to the Digital Archive and they further spotted a detail I had not known about the photograph, as he is rather oddly, pictured above wearing a 'lamb and flag' cap badge, relevant to neither unit he was known to have served in, (unless he served for a time in the small Army Service Corps Armoured Car Companies, recruited from transport personnel. Their 'Light Armoured Motor Batteries', operative in Palestine, wore a similar badge unofficially).

Bombing during the Second World War destroyed some of the records from the First World War.

I was lucky, in that William James's record survived and is a total of 24 pages detailing when he enlisted, his service and which regiment he was attached to and then, finally his gun shot wound to the chest leading to his death in 1918, just months before the war ended.

I have downloaded a copy of his Service Record and have just noticed a mention of the Devonshire Regiment that I had been unaware of.

His medal card, confirms what medals his family were entitled to claim after his death and this corresponds with the Service Record.

May he rest in peace and know that even though he paid the ultimate sacrifice he is still firmly in the heart of his family.

Wordless Wednesday - William James West (1898 - 1918)

Taking part in Wordless Wednesday

You can read more about William's life HERE

Ancestor of the week - Willliam James West

This is the belated post from 26 February.

William James West was born in Aldershot Hampshire in 1898, the son of William Arthur West, a military man and, Emma Jane Ellis (Harris).

I had always known that my Grandfather's first cousin had died in the First World War, and then I was presented with a photograph of William, such a handsome young man! The moment I saw that photograph I wanted to know all I could about William.

Private William James West served with the 1st Battalion Cheshire Regiment. He is Commemorated at: Ligny-Sur-Canche British Cemetery, Pas de Calais, France. He died of wounds on 5th September 1918, aged just 20 years.

He is commemorated on the War Memorial at Stony Stratford Buckinghamshire, where his parents, William Arthur and Emma Jane West lived & ran their newsagents business at 63 High Street.

I submitted the details for William James to the First World War Digital Archive whilst material could be submitted. As I wanted to further preserve the details of William.

William James had two army numbers and was Private T4/212898 William James West, Army Service Corps, and later was 51275, 1st Bn. Cheshire Regiment. His T4 Army Service Corps prefix indicates he once served in transport.

As I said I submitted his details to the Digital Archive and they further spotted a detail I had not known about the photograph, as he is rather oddly, pictured above wearing a 'lamb and flag' cap badge, relevant to neither unit he was known to have served in, (unless he served for a time in the small Army Service Corps Armoured Car Companies, recruited from transport personnel. Their 'Light Armoured Motor Batteries', operative in Palestine, wore a similar badge unofficially).

Bombing during the Second World War destroyed some of the records from the First World War.

I was lucky, in that William James's record survived and is a total of 24 pages detailing when he enlisted, his service and which regiment he was attached to and then, finally his gun shot wound to the chest leading to his death in 1918, just months before the war ended.

I have downloaded a copy of his Service Record and have just noticed a mention of the Devonshire Regiment that I had been unaware of.

His medal card, confirms what medals his family were entitled to claim after his death and this corresponds with the Service Record.

Ancestor of the week - William Arthur West - Part One

This is the belated post from 19th February.

William Arthur West was born in 1863 in Guildford. I became aware of him through the his marriage to my Grandfather's Aunt - Emma Jane Ellis (Harris). They married in 1897 and raised two children. A son called William James born 1898 in Aldershot Hampshire and a daughter, Clara Edith born 1901 in Aldershot.

I knew from my Grandfather's cousin that William Arthur had been a military man and made an earlier assumption, at this point I had not researched his military life, that he had been in the Boer War. I was then presented with some photos:

William Arthur is the second from the right in the back row.

Here he is again, this time with an unnamed boy soldier, look how young this lad is?

By chance I did a Google search on William Arthur. I have never come across anyone researching this family outside of my immediate family so what happened to William and Clara. William James is the subject of another Ancestor of the week post. I also wanted to know more of William Senior. I did know that after leaving the military he owned a sweet shop in Stony Stratford Buckinghamshire.

The Google search revealed an interesting website article, although a recent search does not show the article, which is a great shame. Anyway, the article looked at my William Arthur West from the perspective of the community in which he lived, Stony Stratford. The article provided a few clues which I had not been aware of, and I used this as a springboard for further research and to fill in a few gaps into William's earlier life.

I had already been in contact with the author of the article. I had a reply and was delighted to hear that they had quite an archive of material relating to my ancestor. I was invited to come and look at the article. I replied that given the distance it would not be until our next trip north of here and I was really surprised when I was offered the opportunity to receive the archive in the post for my perusal and copying. In due course the file arrived and I managed to copy the entire archive and return with some extra material by tracked post. That is one of the things that I love about genealogy, it is the genuineness of fellow researchers.

Siege by David Humphry

From the back cover - "Manchester 1976. The oldest living Victoria Cross holder and the last survivor of three friends who went to do their duty for Queen and country in the Boer War collapses at a remembrance Sunday service. A young newspaper reporter is assigned to cover the story and is treated to a unique first hand insight of life before and during the siege of Ladysmith in a long forgotten war, fought over three quarters of a century earlier. Natal 1899. Britain and her empire are at war with the Boer republics of the Transvaal and Orange Free State. Three old school friends, Privates Charlie Browell, Walter Shawcross and Frank Hoyland are involved in their first armed conflict which will leave one of them dead and another the proud recipient of Britain’s highest gallantry award, the Victoria Cross. As the twentieth century beckons, this last great imperial war will have far reaching consequences for many people including the three generations of the van Oppen family, riding on commando together in the service of the Transvaal Republic; Sarah Dyson, a volunteer nurse who finds love among death, disease and deprivation; Ada Dunkley, matriarch of a prominent Ladysmith family, left shattered by the tragedy of a murder of which and innocent man is accused and Joseph Ncube, a fifteen year old Zulu boy left disillusioned as his loyalty and courage are quickly forgotten after the siege is lifted."

The author is a member of the Boer War mailing list and a web page about the book is Here

Purchased a signed,advance copy from the author.

A page turning story about a young reporter sent to interview the last surviving British soldier of the Boer War. The reporter sits and listens as the old soldier relives the moments and events of 1899. The stench of illness & death, the friendships which were so treasured because they could be snatched away through the events of war, the way the black South Africans who were unrewarded for their involvement in the war were treated, and of the nurses who cared for the soldiers against all odds.

Entwined through the story are three generations of South Africans who are fighting the same war, but on opposite sides and of how one of the medals of the eldest generation of this family came to be back in Manchester with the surviving British soldier.

A really enjoyable book, well researched, and will there be a sequel?......Very thought provoking to someone who has an ancestor who fought in the Boer War.


William Arthur West in South Africa 1899-1902 with a boy soldier


This photo is a group of Soldiers in the Royal Medical Corps during 1899-1902. My Ancestor, William Arthur West is in the back row, second from the right