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Cpl. James Ward
British Army Durham Light Infantry
from:Jarrow
(d.7th Jul 1918)
James Ward served in the Durham Light Infantry and was transferred after being wounded twice to the Labour Corps, 360 Employment Company. He died age 27 on the 7th July 1918 and is remembered at St Paul's Church. He is buried in Jarrow Cemetery. His medal card shows the award of the 1914 Star, War and Victory Medals.
James was born in Jarrow 1890, son of Bernard and Elizabeth Ward nee Bruce of 22 North Street, Jarrow. In the 1911 census James is listed amongst the soldiers at the Durham Light Infantry Depot in Jesmond, Durham. His parents Bernard(44), a labourer at rolling mills and Elizabeth(42) are living at 68 Gray Street, Jarrow with his sister Ellen(19) and his younger brother James Bernard who is 6 years old. James is recorded on the army returns as being 21 and married.
Without knowing which Battalion James served in, it is normally difficult to determine where he served, however the inscription on his headstone records that he was wounded at the Battle of Aisne and later at the Somme. His transfer to the Labour Company would indicate he was classed as unfit for front line action from a medical assessment. Labour Corps records are almost non-existent but it seems he must have died eventually from his wounds back in the UK.
