No.G/30167, Private, James ELSDEN
Aged 19
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James Elsden was born in Sidbury, Devon on 19th July 1899 (Honiton Q3-1899 5B:22), baptised in Sidbury on 25th December 1899, son of Cooper and
Matilda Louisa ELSDEN (née FABB).
1901 census...Aged 1, he was at St John's Square, Soham with his father Cooper ELSDEN [36] bricklayer; his mother Louisa M.[33]; sisters Eva [9] and Ada [5]; brothers Frederick [7] and George [4] born Sidbury, Devon. All except James and George were born in Soham. 1911 census...Aged 11, he was at Speed lane, Soham with his parents; brothers Frank (Frederick) a manure merchant's clerk, George (errand boy) and Cecil [9] and sister Elsie [6]. The two new children were born in Soham. |
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He enlisted in Wandsworth, Surrey when resident in Clapham, Surrey. His Army records have not been found, but those of his brother George are available. From them we find his father later moved to Barton Road, Ely. George was initially in the same regiment as James but was transferred to the Kings Own Royal Lancashire Regiment. When wounded in 1917 he had leave in High Street,Sutton. He survived the war to return to High Street, Sutton. James' unit, the 8th Queen's were engaged near St Aubert, the war diaries have:- Rieux-Montrecourt 12th - Zero hour had been fixed for 12:00 but aeroplane patrols at dawn reported that the enemy had withdrawn from the ridge and gone right back, his exact location being uncertain. So by 11:00 hrs the Brigade was advancing again across country in a NE direction, the Battn still being in support. About 12:30 hrs the outskirts of Villers-en-Cauchies were reached and a halt made. A few casualties were suffered as the result of occasional bursts of shell fire over this area. The enemy was now found to be holding the line of the R.SELLE in considerable force and orders were issued for the Battn to pass through the leading Battns after dark and try and force the crossings of the river under a barrage. Zero hour for the attack was fixed at 18:30 hrs but owing to the difficult country to be crossed in the dark and the difficulty of finding its positions the Battn was late for the barrage, which however caused the enemy to evacuate MONTRECOURT and the bank of the river. The enemy retaliation for the barrage was particularly heavy on the western edge of MONTRECOURT WOOD where the Battn was assembling and some casualties resulted. B and C Coys were ordered to advance to the river bank and attempt to dross the river and establish posts on the further bank, if possible as far up as the railway embankment. D Coy was in support, with the exception of one platoon sent to MONTRECOURT, and A Coy in reserve with Battn HQ at the SW edge of MONTRECOURT WOOD. On reaching the river bank B & C Coys found that the river was too deep to wade. Some patrols were pushed across by a broken bridge consisting only of6 inch iron rail, and the 103rd Field Coy R.E. built two pontoon footbridges further south.. The number of men that could be thrown across by the broken bridge was insufficient to deal with the enemy's counter attack and it was therefore decided to hold the bridges from the W side. Throughout the night these bridgeheads were continually under heavy M.g. and rifle fire and some bombing also took place, C Coy suffering a fair number of casualties. Fortunately casualties included only 3 killed.
photo:Rodney Gibson click here to go to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website for full cemetery/memorial details |
