Born in 1887 at Woodford, son of Henry (Mercantile Clerk) and Sarah Catherine Blyth. 1891: With his family at Dunedin Villa, Maybank Road, South Woodford. 1901: His father had died and mother Sarah was head of the household. Still living at Dunedin Villa. James was now an Office Boy. 1911: A Manager in the Retail Corn Trade, still at Dunedin Villa. Later he worked in the Asiatic Petroleum Company. He attended Rev Newton Kent School Suffolk. In 1915 he married Marguerite Blanchetiere.
Initially a Private in 5 Rifle Brigade, he was Commissioned into 11 Rifle Brigade after 12 months service. During an attack as part of the Battle of the Somme he was Killed in Action, shot as he reached the enemy barbed wire. He had moved forward to take the place of another Officer who had fallen wounded.
Research by Adrian Lee, Local Historian
Sources:
Ancestry.com
Woodford Times