James Harold Bacon
- Family History
- Military History
- Extra Information
- Photographs
James Harold was the son of James and Ada Bacon (née Pearson). His father James was born in Leicester in about about 1876, the son of James and Sarah Bacon. By 1891 James (15) a lace threader and his parents were living on Finedon Terrace, Sneinton. His mother Ada was born in Sneinton in 1878, the daughter of Josiah Pearson, a framework knitter, and his wife Kate (née Hawley). Ada was living with her parents on Lowdham Street, Sneinton, in 1891. James and Ada were married at Sneinton St Mathias on 2 August 1896 and by 1911 had had six children, one of whom died in infancy. Their surviving children were: Florence Gertrude b. Sneinton 1897, James Harold b. Sneinton 1898, William Baden Powell b. Carrington 1900, Cyril b. Sneinton birth registered 1907 (J/F/M) and Josiah b. Hyson Green 1909. In 1901 James (26), a lace maker, and Ada (24) were living at 4 Jenner Street, Nottingham with their children Florence (4), James (2) and William (under one year). Ada died in 1911 (J/F/M) aged about 33. In 1911 her widowed husband was living at 60 Saville Street, Hyson Green, with his five children Florence, James, William, Cyril (4) and Josiah (1). Two of James' siblings died in young adulthood; Florence in 1918 (O/N/D) aged about 21 and William in 1926 (O/N/D) aged about 25.
17th (Welbeck Rangers) Battalion Sherwood Foresters The 17th Battalion was a battalion of Kitchener's New Armies, raised at Nottingham on 1 June 1915 by the Mayor and a recruiting committee. It joined the BEF France on 6 March 1916, landing at Le Havre, and came under order of 117th Brigade 29th Division. James Harold was killed in action on 3 September 1916 during the attack north of the Ancre during the Battle of the Somme, and was buried in Knightsbridge Cemetery, Mesnil-Martinsart, France (grave ref. D.2) CWGC - Knightsbridge Cemetery (extract): 'The cemetery, which is named from a communication trench, was begun at the outset of the Battle of the Somme in 1916. It was used by units fighting on that front until the German withdrawal in February 1917 and was used again by fighting units from the end of March to July 1918, when the German advance brought the front line back to the Ancre. After the Armistice, some burials in Rows G, H and J were added when graves were brought in from isolated positions on the battlefields of 1916 and 1918 round Mesnil.'
Nottingham Castle, Nottingham: War Memorial sun dial to the 17th Battalion Sherwood Foresters in the grounds of Nottingham Castle. Dedicated after the Great War but now also commemorates WW2 casualties. Registers of Soldiers' Effects: James' maternal grandmother, Kate Pearson, was his sole legatee. The WW1 Pension Ledgers index card also names his grandmother, Kate Pearson.
