James Halsey 1875 – 1916 – Killed in the Great War

James Halsey was born in 1875 in Welwyn, Hertfordshire. In 1881, he was living with his family in London Road, Welwyn where his father, Thomas Halsey, was a Woodman. By 1901, James was a Domestic Footman living and working in the home of a Mining Engineer in Bletchingley, Surrey.

In 1909, James set sail from Liverpool to Quebec in Canada on board the Empress of Britain arriving on 17 September 1909. The manifest describes his occupation as a Coachman. On 19 May 1915, James now age 40 enlisted into the Canadian Armed Forces (Service No 435211), in Calgary. He was described as a Foreman and his next of kin was Mrs L Cochrane, his sister, who by now was married to John Cochrane, a Flour Mill Waggoner living in Lemsford.

On the morning of June 2, 1916, the Germans mounted an attack to dislodge the Allies from their positions at Mount Sorrel just north of the Ypres-Menin road. In the fiercest bombardment yet experienced by Canadian Troops, whole sections of trench were obliterated and the defending garrisons annihilated. Human bodies and even the trees of Sanctuary Wood were hurled into the air by the explosions. By evening, the enemy advance was checked, but the important vantage points of Mount Sorrel and Hills 61 and 62 were lost. A counter-attack by the Canadians the next morning failed; and on June 6, after exploding four mines on the Canadian front, the Germans assaulted again and captured Hooge on the Menin Road. At Mount Sorrel Canadian troops suffered 8,430 casualties. On the first day of this attack, James Halsey as a Lance Corporal, Service No 435211, of the 49th Canadian Infantry was killed and is buried in the Divisional Collecting Post Cemetery and Extension near Ypres (Leper).

Note on the back of the above image of Jim Halsey ( Photo in the possession of Shirley Knapp). ‘ Dads uncle Jim Halsey, died in Bethune 1916 in the Canadian Army. He lived in Calgary, Western Canada, at the outbreak of the First World War. Our eldest brother, John Cochrane lived with him for a short time trekked, 500 miles into the Peace River County and was drowned trying to save a friend. Dad’