| Description | Work completed by volunteer includes the following information:
James was from Beverley he had 4 brothers and 4 sisters. On the 1911 Census the family were living in Spencer Street, Beverley with his father Charles who was a Railway Porter. James, was a member of the Church Lads Brigade and was a bugler.
He joined the Yorkshire Regiment, his Army Medal Card shows he was transferred to the West Yorkshire Regiment and at some point became a prisoner of war. On 8 Jun 1918 The Beverley Guardian reported that Corporal J W Houghton of 2nd West Yorkshire Regiment had been officially reported as missing but was now known to be a prisoner of war in Germany, "a card having been received by his parents from him in his own handwriting". The Beverley Guardian ran another piece on 30 Nov 1918 reporting that James had been taken prisoner on 24 Apr 1918 and was put to work in the veterinary stables at St Avold in Lorraine where "the work was not uncongenial but the hours were long". "The day after the Armistice was signed he, with a thousand others, was escorted by the Germans to the frontier." James eventually reached Calais, crossing the Channel on 25 Nov and arriving in Beverley on the 28th.
According to his Medal Roll and despite this experience James appears to have been transferred to the Royal Highlanders although there's no record of where he went or when he was allowed to return to civilian life.
After the war he married Florence Tattersall on the 22 Sep 1923 in St Mary's Church, Beverley. James gives his address as 44 King Street, Charles Street, Hull and his occupation as fireman. They had two daughters Audrey born 1925 and Renee born 1927. James died on 20 Sep 1974 in Hull.
Includes photograph, information taken from census, military records, Commonwealth War Graves, newspapers |