SOUTHALL, James

James Southall lived in Cradley and attended Colley Lane school. He was probably a regular soldier in the Worcesters and served in the 1st Battalion which was in Burma in 1914. On their return he was transferred to the 2nd Battalion on the Western Front in Artois. They were involved in the major battles of Festubert in the Spring and Loos in the Autumn. They moved to the Somme for the second phase of the battle, fighting at Bazentin on the 14th July and High Wood. They returned in August to the trenches at Delville Wood and were part of a minor attack on the 21st in the confused remains of this woodland. Private James Southall was killed on the 23rd August during an enemy counter-attack. He is buried in Lonsdale Cemetery, Authuille, (VI A 3) and is commemorated on the Cradley and Halesowen Memorials.