James Palmer – Royal Welsh Fusiliers, 1st Battalion

Private James Palmer – Royal Welsh Fusiliers, 1^st Battalion

Family Background

James Palmer was born in 1887 at Pontlottyn, Glamorgan, the son of James Palmer and Ann Prosser.

1891 Census

At the time of the 1891 Census, the Palmer family were living at 22 Wine Street, Gelligaer, Merthyr Tydfil. James Palmer senior, aged 36 and born in Herefordshire, was employed as a haulage worker in a coal mine, while his wife Ann, also 36 and born in Glamorganshire, managed the household. Their children were Ernest (15), working as an engine cleaner; William (11); and James (4), both attending school. Also present were Ann’s brother, Alfred Prosser (31), a coalminer, and his children Ann Eliza Jones (11), Rees Jones (8), and Mary Jane Jones (5), all attending school.

1901 Census

By the 1901 Census, James, aged 14, was living with his grandmother at 26 Broad Street, Pontlottyn, Merthyr Tydfil. His grandmother, Margaret Palmer, aged 86 and widowed, was the head of the household. James was already employed as a coal hewer, and also living at the address was Cisy, a 7-year-old granddaughter.

1911 Census

In the 1911 Census, James, aged 24, was recorded as a boarder at the home of William Evans, 6 Edmund Street, Pontlottyn, Glamorgan. He was employed as a coal miner (hewer).

Marriage

James married Lily Delve in 1913, in the Gower district.

Military Service

Following the outbreak of the First World War, James enlisted and served as a Private in the 1^st Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers, part of the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front.

1^st Battalion, Royal Welsh Fusiliers – January 1915

In January 1915, the 1^st Battalion was serving in the Ypres Salient, an exposed and dangerous sector of the front line during the early, static phase of the war. The winter of 1914–15 was particularly severe, with freezing temperatures, flooded trenches, and constant enemy observation. Although there were no major offensives underway at this time, daily trench life was extremely hazardous.

Men were routinely exposed to sniper fire, artillery bombardment, trench mortars, and night patrols, and casualties were frequent even during routine duties such as sentry work or carrying supplies. Losses often occurred suddenly and without warning, reflecting the perilous nature of early trench warfare.

It was during these conditions, on 16^th January 1915, that Private James Palmer was killed in action.

Death and Commemoration

Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects

James Palmer
Ploegsteert Memorial, Belgium
credit - findagrave

According to the Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects, Private James Palmer was killed in action on 16^th January 1915. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Ploegsteert Memorial, Belgium, which honours officers and men who fell during the early years of the war and whose burial places are unknown.