359540 Private James Irvine, 10th Batt. The King's Liverpool Regiment.
- Amanda T
- May 26, 2020
- 4 min read
Identification
I made the assumption that if James Irvine had a middle name it would have been on the war memorial, so only counted results for James or J Irvine. This gave me 31 results on the CWGC database.
This seemed like too large a pool of men but a closer look revealed that most of them were in Scottish regiments. Checking the 'other information' on their entries meant that I could discount 29 of the men. Of the 2 left one was in the King's (Liverpool Regiment) and lived on the same street as St James' Church, the other was in the RWF (Royal Welsh Fusiliers) with no other information.
It seemed likely that I had found the right man, to check the likelihood of there being another James Irvine I checked the 1911 census and found only one result for a James Irvine born in the most likely year range of 1880-1900 and living in Liverpool. The street address from the CWGC and the census matched. This meant that the Irvine in the RWF was not from Liverpool and I had found my man in the KLR.
Family Information
Born in 1885 (although I have been unable to find a record of his birth). James Irvine was the son of William and Catherine Irvine.
The 1891 census shows that William was a boat-builder's labourer aged 37 and his wife Catherine was 36. Their children were William aged 13, Anabella aged 11, John aged 9, James aged 7, Thomas age 5, Charles aged 3, and Sarah E aged 3 months. The family lived at 34 Clarke Street (which was near St James)
The 1901 census return shows the family had moved to 32 Clarke Street. William was working as a Ship Smith's Hammer Man and the household on census night consisted of William (25) who was a timber merchant, Anabella (21) a general servant, John (19) a corkers apprentice, James (17) also a corkers apprentice, Thomas (15) a railway messenger, Charles (13) at school, Sarah (10) at school, Elizabeth (7) at school. They also had Catherine’s brother William Park staying with them.
The 1911 census return shows that the family had moved to 84 Upper Stanhope Street which is a large house with 8 rooms and is very close to St James’ Church. William was employed as a ship smith’s helper, he and Catherine had been married 32 years and 9 of their 10 children survived. The children still living with them were: John, James and Charles who were all employed as coopers, Thomas who was a railway servant (carriage cleaner) and Elizabeth who was a dressmaker’s apprentice. William Park was still with them, listed as a boarder on the census.
Our soldier's father, William, died in 1916.
Military Information
James Irvine's service records have not survived so there is little information available. His medal index card shows that he was in the Liverpool Regiment with the number 359540 and was awarded the Victory and British War Medals. The fact that he wasn't eligible for the 1915 star tells us that he went overseas sometime after 31st December 1915.
James was in the10th Battalion, the Liverpool Scottish. The Liverpool Scottish went to France early in the war but we know that James did not. The fact that his medal card only has a six-digit number tells us he was conscripted after the Territorial Force battalions (including the 10th) were renumbered early in 1917, meaning he joined the Battalion after they had been in France for several years.
The Battalion war diary for the day James was killed in action does not mention him by name. This is normal, they very rarely name ‘other ranks'.
Death and Commemoration
The Commonwealth War Graves Commision records that James Irvine was killed in action on 9th April 1918.
The battalion war diary for the day James Irvine was killed:
9th April (1918) at 4am a very heavy bombardment on both the front and back areas opened and about 4:45am the pre-arrange code word “bustle” (on receipt of which battle positions had to be occupied) was received, and the Battalion moved to TUNING FORK LOCALITY. Heavy casualties were sustained en route, owing to the heavy and accurate shelling of all roads and tracks with H.E [high explosive] and gas shells.
Shelling continued heavy until 9:50am when the enemy attacked on a long front. On the immediate front of the battalion, the attack was unsuccessful but on the left, the front defended by the Portuguese was penetrated and it was necessary to form a defensive flank in this direction. “Z” company accordingly occupied LOISNE CENTRAL. The Battalion came under the orders of the B.G.C. 165 Infantry Brigade. The evening and night were comparatively quiet.
Casualties for the MONTH:
Officers: 4 died, 1 missing, 7 wounded.
Other Ranks: 81 killed, 5 missing, 177 wounded.
It seems likely from this entry that James Irvine was killed by enemy shellfire. He has no known grave and his name is inscribed on the Loos memorial in France.
He is also commemorated in a beautiful book of remembrance for the Liverpool Scottish which is held in St George’s Hall.
The plaque, below, dedicate to James by his fellow choristers, can be seen in Christ Church, Linnet Lane, Liverpool. When I contacted a relative of James Irvine they told me that family stories of him relate that he was a wonderful singer.
The register of soldier’s effects shows that James’s effects and war gratuity were paid to his widowed mother Catherine. She was also the beneficiary of his will and received a dependent's pension for the loss of her son.
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