James Wormwell died of wounds on this day in 1917

James Wormwell was born on 29 April 1894 in Nelson, Lancashire.

He was employed as a weaver at J J Duckworth & Co before joining the army in August 1914.

At the 1901 Census, he was living with his grandparents, James and Hannah Wormwell and their 6 children at 127 Vicarage Rd, Kelbrook near Skipton. His grandfather was a builder/contractor, while those children aged age 13 and upwards worked in either the cotton mill or quarry.

By the time of the 1911 Census, aged 17, was now living with two uncles and an 'aunt', still somewhere on Vicarage Road. James is described as a cotton weaver. The 'aunt', Annie is aged 38, unmarried and born in Earby. In the 1901 Census, one of the six children in the house with James was named Annie, aged 27 and born in Earby. Annie was probably James' mother who bore him outside of marriage. They initially lived with her parents but subsequently moved in with her brothers.

James enlisted in the East Lancashire Regt. in 1914 and served in the Dardanelles and Egypt before moving to the Western Front in February 1917. He was wounded in the back and abdomen near Havrincourt on 25 April 1917. Evacuated to a field hospital near Peronne, he died of his wounds in the early hours of 27 April 1917.

James' war pension was initially claimed by his uncle, William Wormwell, Annie's brother. At some point, this was changed to Margaret Wormwell, described on another Pension Card as "aunt in law".

James Wormwell is buried in Peronne Communal Cemetery Extension, France (below).

240446 Pte James Wormwell, 1/5th Bn East Lancashire Regt.