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James William Kilpatrick was born in Salford into an Army family in 1892. His Irish grandfather, James, joined the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers as a seventeen year old and served in India receiving the Indian Mutiny Medal before retiring and settling in Beverley. James' father, also called James, joined the East Yorkshire Regiment and received the Queens South Africa medal in 1901, and clasp in 1902 for his part in the Boer War together with a Long Service medal in 1907, he retired to Beverley acting as caretaker of the Beverley Rifle Range.
James' mother, Mary Jane (nee Wilson) was born and raised in Beverley. James was the eldest son and at age 15 he joined the East Yorkshire Regiment. His name appears on the 1911 Census as being stationed in India but by Aug 1914, the 2nd East Yorkshire Regiment had returned to England from Kamptee. They arrived in Dec 1914, were moved to Hursley Park near to Winchester, attached to 83rd Brigade, 28th Division and by 16 Jan 1915 they had landed at Le Havre to provide much needed reinforcements at Ypres. The Regiment's War Diary gives exact details of the events that followed. It tells of "Zwartelien Action" at 5.30am on 17 Feb 1915 when a trench was blown in by a mine and taken by the Germans. With assistance from the Kings Own Regiment it was recaptured by 11.30am although heavy shelling continued all day, the War diary reports "our casualties were very slight, considering the importance of retaking of this point". Lance Sergeant James William Kilpatrick was one of those casualties, he died aged 22, barely a month after his arrival in France. The Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial records his name
Includes photograph, information taken from census, military records, Commonwealth War Graves, newspapers |