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Pte. James Ellis Ratcliffe
British Army 2/7 Btn. (Leeds Rifles) West Yorkshire Regiment
from:8 Institution Row, Woodhouse, Leeds
(d.28th Nov 1917)
James Ellis Ratcliffe was the uncle of my wife's aunt. He was born in the Woodhouse area of Leeds in 1887, one of seven children of John Ratcliffe and Jane Ratcliffe, née Marshall, three of whom served in WW1. He worked as a warehouse packer before joining the army during the war. He was killed in action at Bourlon Wood, France on 28th November 1917. James has no known grave, but is remembered on Panel 5 of the Cambrai Memorial at Louverval, Departement du Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France.
His brothers George, Army Service Corps, and Ernest, Royal Garrison Artillery, both survived the war. His niece, our Auntie Marjorie was born in 1918 and never knew her uncle James, but has clear memories of her uncles George and Ernest. She is now nearly 96, and, along with her sister Dorothy (my late mother-in-law) served in the Wrens in WW2.
