David George James, MM – Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort’s Own), 13th (Service) Battalion

Company Serjeant Major David George James, MM – Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort’s Own), 13^th (Service) Battalion

Birth and Family Background

David George James was born in 1887 at Treorchy, Glamorgan, the son of Daniel James and Kate Annie Charles.

1891 Census

At the time of the 1891 Census, the James family were living at 13 Bond Street. Daniel James (32), born in Newport, was employed as a grocer’s assistant, while his Monmouthshire-born wife, Kate A. (31), was at home. Their children were Gwendoline (7), Sydney C. (5), David G. (4), all attending school, and Daisy J. (2).

1901 Census

By the 1901 Census, the family had moved to 3 Llywel Street, Swansea. Daniel James (42) remained a grocer’s assistant, and Kate Anne (41) was his wife. Their children were Sidney Charles (15), a word corrector; David George (13), a solicitor’s clerk; Daisy Jane (12); Gladys Esther (7); Dorothy (5); William Granville (3); and Elizabeth (5 months).

1911 Census

At the time of the 1911 Census, the family were residing at 2 Sea View, Sketty. Kate James (51) was recorded as a housekeeper. Her children present were David George (23), a solicitor’s clerk; Gladys (17), a grocer’s assistant; Dorothy (15); and William (13), both attending school.

Marriage

In 1915, David George James married Nellie Marion Excell.

Military Service

David enlisted in the Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort’s Own), serving with the 13^th (Service) Battalion. Through experience and leadership he rose to the senior non-commissioned rank of Company Serjeant Major, responsible for discipline, organisation, and leadership under fire.

Award of the Military Medal

During the Somme campaign of 1916, David was awarded the Military Medal (MM) for bravery in the field. Although the original citation has not survived, the award places his gallantry amid intense and sustained combat, when the battalion endured constant shelling, hazardous patrols and working parties, and the strain of prolonged trench warfare. For senior NCOs, such awards often recognised repeated acts of courage and steadiness under fire, directing men, maintaining order during bombardments, and assisting the wounded in exposed conditions.

Rifle Brigade, 13^th Battalion — 14^th November 1916

On 14^th November 1916, the 13th Battalion was operating on the Somme front during the final, exhausting phase of the campaign, in the Ancre Heights sector north of the main battlefield. In the days immediately preceding the Battle of the Ancre (13–18 November), the battalion was engaged in trench holding, relief operations, patrolling, and preparatory movements under persistent German artillery fire.

Conditions were among the worst of the war: heavy rain, deep mud, freezing temperatures, and collapsed trenches made movement dangerous and communications unreliable. Casualties occurred daily, often during routine duties. Senior NCOs, including Company Serjeant Majors, were crucial in organising supplies, directing working parties, and steadying men under shellfire, frequently exposing themselves to danger.

It was during this period of sustained bombardment and front-line strain on 14^th November 1916 that Company Serjeant Major David George James, MM, was killed in action—a loss emblematic of the relentless attrition of the Somme’s closing weeks.

Death and Commemoration

Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects 

David George James
Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France 
credit - findagrave

Army Registers of Soldiers’ Effects record that David George James was killed in action on 14^th November 1916. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial, which bears the names of those who died on the Somme and whose resting places are unknown.

David George James’s service exemplifies the courage and leadership of senior non-commissioned officers during the First World War; his Military Medal stands as enduring recognition of bravery in one of the conflict’s most demanding campaigns