Site Home
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site you agree to accept cookies.
If you enjoy this site please consider making a donation.
Great War Home
Search
Add Stories & Photos
Library
Help & FAQs
Features
Allied Army
Day by Day
RFC & RAF
Prisoners of War
War at Sea
Training for War
The Battles
Those Who Served
Hospitals
Civilian Service
Women at War
The War Effort
Central Powers Army
Central Powers Navy
Imperial Air Service
Library
World War Two
Submissions
Add Stories & Photos
Time Capsule
Information
Help & FAQs
Glossary
Our Facebook Page
Volunteering
News
Events
Contact us
Great War Books
About
231277L/Cpl. James Alban Charles "Jimmy" White
British Army 15th (2nd Portsmouth Pals) Btn. Hampshire Regiment
from:Warminster
James White enlisted in the 15th (2nd Portsmouth Pals) Btn, Hampshire Regiment at Winchester on 9th Feb 1915. After training the Bn moved to France on 2nd May 1916 as part of 122nd Brigade in 41st Division and moved to the La Creche area where they started instruction in the trenches in parties of about 100 with other units on the 10th May. The Bn continued to operate in the area between Hazebrouck and Bailleul until Sep 1916 when it moved to the Somme area.On 15th Sep 1916 the Battalion took part in the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, which was the first attack using tanks. A major advance (in WW1 terms) was achieved and the village of Flers was captured by 122nd Brigade with the support of the tanks. However casualties were high, mainly due to the German artillery barrage, but also to three machine guns on the Battalions left. 8 officers and 31 men were killed, 5 officers and 188 men wounded and 60 men were missing.
James White was one of those wounded, and left some notes and a map of the action. It shows he reached the 3rd German line at the edge of the village, where he says the line was consolidated, and he may have gone further on with a party under Lt Smith. His map shows he was wounded in the second German line, but does not indicate if this was on the way forward or later. However the Battalion War Diary records that the German barrage was very heavy and many messengers were killed or wounded trying to get messages to or from Battalion HQ to the men in Flers. It may be that James White was one of these. He suffered severe wounds to his legs from a shell.
He records that he manged to get to a Field Ambulance in a sunken road running from Longueval to Flers and was then evacuated back. He spent a long time in Whitchurch Military Hospital (Cardiff), Netley Hospital and the Royal South Hants Hospital and was discharged as unfit for military service on 22nd Nov 1917.
James Alban Charles White died in 1926, ten years after he was wounded, from septicemia caused by his wounds.
James White in 1917 in Hospital Blues
James White with his daughter in approximately 1924
Related Content:
Can you help us to add to our records?
The names and stories on this website have been submitted by their relatives and friends. If your relations are not listed please add their names so that others can read about them
Did your relative live through the Great War? Do you have any photos, newspaper clippings, postcards or letters from that period? Have you researched the names on your local or war memorial?
If so please let us know.
Do you know the location of a Great War "Roll of Honour?"We are very keen to track down these often forgotten documents and obtain photographs and transcriptions of the names recorded so that they will be available for all to remember.
Help us to build a database of information on those who served both at home and abroad so that future generations may learn of their sacrifice.
Celebrate your own Family History
Celebrate by honouring members of your family who served in the Great War both in the forces and at home. We love to hear about the soldiers, but also remember the many who served in support roles, nurses, doctors, land army, muntions workers etc.
Please use our Family History resources to find out more about your relatives. Then please send in a short article, with a photo if possible, so that they can be remembered on these pages.
The free section of The Wartime Memories Project is run by volunteers.
This website is paid for out of our own pockets, library subscriptions and from donations made by visitors. The popularity of the site means that it is far exceeding available resources and we currently have a huge backlog of submissions.
If you are enjoying the site, please consider making a donation, however small to help with the costs of keeping the site running.
Hosted by:
Copyright MCMXCIX - MMXXIV
- All Rights Reserved -We do not permit the use of any content from this website for the training of LLMs or for use in Generative AI, it also may not be scraped for the purpose of creating other websites.