206344 Pte. James Broadley British Army 6th Battalion Durham Light Infantry from:69 Wood Street, Shotley Bridge, County Durham My Grandfather's name is James Broadley. He was born into a mining family on 1st Jan 1895 in County Durham. In 1914 he was living in a poor area of North West Durham at 69 Wood Street, Shotley Bridge. At the outbreak of the WW1 James Broadley, service number 1798, and his older brother William Broadley, service number 3207, joined the the 6th Reserve Battlion DLI at Consett. In 1915 the Battalion was sent off to France with 151st brigade, 50th Division to take part in the 2nd Battle of Ypres. On 26th April the 6th went into the line under fire on Hill 37 near Zonnebeke. On the 30th April during the German shelling my Grandfather and three other soldiers were buried by an explosion. Lance-Corporal J.J.Robinson from Shotley Bridge, single handedly dug them out under shell fire and was awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Distinguished Conduct Medal. The casualties during this baptism of fire were 45 out of 120. Total losses to 151 Battalion during the five days of fighting were 245 and 34 missing. My Grandfather survived WW1 although he was later gassed, taking part in Battles at Sanctuary Wood, Hill 60, Arras and The Somme. James Broadley was again lucky to survive the German push in 1918 when the 6th battalion was decimated. After the battle he was transferred and finished the war with the South Staffs, service number 238077. My father told me that the 6th DLI survivors in the village often laughed when relating the story of my grandfather being dug out by J. J. Robinson. Grandfather's brother William also survived the war in a German POW camp after being gassed and captured in 1918.
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