PARSONS, James E

James Parsons was the son of George Parsons of School Lane, Hasbury and enlisted in February 1906. He was called up from the Reserve in 1914 and went to the 23rd Battery Royal Field Artillery which was attached to the 3rd Division. He served in the BEF from the opening of hostilities and the Battle of the Marne. In the Spring of 1915 they were involved in the offensive to widen the Ypres Salient along the Menin Road which continued with the Battle of Bellewaerde Ridge and the continuing fighting around Zillebeke. Shelling was particularly dangerous in this confined area and it is possible that counter-battery shelling was the cause of the death of Bombardier James Parsons on the 18th September 1915. He was 31 years of age and is buried at Railway Dugouts Cemetery (I C 19) and commemorated on the Halesowen Memorial. His Commanding Officer wrote of him, 'He died, one of the bravest of the brave'.