Biography of Private James Jordan (5040)
1st/5th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales’s Own)
Died 5th September 1916

Mother

• Name: Mary Dear
• DOB: 1835
• Place Of Birth: Hartford, Huntingdonshire, England
• Marriage: 20th December 1864 Hartford, Huntingdonshire, England

• None found

Marriage

• No marriage for James has been found and we can assume that he never had the opportunity to marry.

Newspaper Mentions

• The Times Saturday 7th October 1916
  DIED OF WOUNDS
  W. Yorks. R.
  Jordan, 5040 J.

Military Records

Medals

• The British Medal
• The Victory Medal

Memorials

• UK:
• Witham on the Hill, Roll of Honour in St Andrew’s Church
• Abbots Ripton War Memorial

• Commonwealth War Graves Commission:
• In memory of Private James Jordan, 5040, 1st/5th Bn., West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wale’s Own) who died on 5 September 1916 Age 41
• Son of William and Mary Jordan, of Wennington, Hunts.
• Remembered with honour, Puchevillers British Cemetery
• Grave IV. A. 19.

© Picture taken by South Lincolnshire War Memorials

Military Service Timeline

• James was born in Wennington Huntingdonshire to farm labourer William Jordan b. 1826 Wistow Hunts, and his wife Mary Dear b. 1835 Hartford hunts. The couple were married in Hartford on the 20th December 1864 and would settle in Wennington. James was the youngest of the eight children born to William and Mary:-

  Elizabeth Jordan, 1864, Hartford

  Rose Ann Jordan, 1865, Wennington

  Emma Jordan, 1867, Wennington

  George W Jordan, 1869, Wennington

  Alfred Jordan, 1871, Wennington

  Walter Jordan, 1872, Wennington

  Anne Jordan, 1875, Wennington

  James Jordan, 1877, Wennington

  We can tell the story of James’ early life through the census returns.
  We find him on his first census in 1881 aged 3. The family were living in Wennington which is a hamlet in the parish of Abbots Ripton near Huntingdon. William, now 57 years old, is working as an agricultural labourer and Mary is now 46 years of age and of the children only five are still living at home. Rose, aged 15 has no occupation but 12 year old George and 10 year old Alfred are both listed as agricultural labourers perhaps highlighting the family’s situation. The two youngest Anne 6 and James 3 are described as scholars.

  The situation had not changed much for the family in 1891 as we still find them in a four room house in Wennington, 67 year old William still working as a farm labourer but now we only find two sons living at home both earning a wage. George now 22 is working as a labourer on the railway and 13 year old James a labourer on a farm.

  Moving forward to 1901 and now William and Mary are still in Wennington (they would be there in 1911 too, living well into old age) William at the age of 76 was still working as a farm labourer and George, working on the railway, would stay on in the family home.

  James has now left the family home and also left the Wennington area and by 1901 was living in Witham on the Hill. He is living as a boarder in the household of Edward Seymour, a farm labourer, and his wife and daughter. The house was next to Witham Hall and as well as Edward being a farm labourer, James was working as a horseman on a farm.

  James would not stay on the farm and when we find him in Witham on the Hill in 1911 he is now working as a forester. He has also moved house and is living as a boarder in the house of Joseph and Elizabeth Sentence. Joseph is a farm labourer and also in the house are his son Amos, an journeyman baker, and daughter Rebecca both single and a similar age to the now 34 year old James Jordan. Once more we find that life must have been crowded as the house only had three rooms.

  We do not know what would happen to James next as his war service records cannot be found. They are most likely part of the 60% of all records that were destroyed in a fire in the London Blitz of WW2.

  We do know that James enlisted in the army in Bourne and was still living in Witham on the Hill at that time. We do not have an exact date for his enlistment although from medal rolls we know that he enlisted in the 8th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment and was given the regimental number of 5040. The date is unknown as the only record we have to work on it the war gratuity payment made after a mans death. This in James’ case was the minimum of £3/- meaning that in total he had not served over one year. This means he would have enlisted sometime between September 1915 and April 1916. The fact that the Military service act came into being in January 1916 which would have conscripted all single men between 18 and 40 means that we have no real idea of James’ military life.

  He enlisted into the 8th Battalion (according to the Soldiers died in the Great War index) and we know from records that he was with the 5th battalion when he died (according to the Soldier’s effects register) but as the medal rolls make no reference to the 5th Battalion we cannot be sure when he was posted or attached to the 5th.

  If we work with the known facts that he was buried at Puchevillers and died of wounds on the 5th then we would probably have been wounded on the in the days leading up to this date. Puchelillers British Cemetery was in the location of both the 3rd and 44th Casualty Clearing Stations and so would tend to the wounded that had been brought in from the front at the time of James’ death.

  The 1/5th Battalion had been in trenches north of Albert and reported 73 casualties in the fighting on the 4th before coming out of the trenches on the 5th near Martinsart.

  The 1st/8th battalion were in trenches near Albert and on the 3rd near Aveluy and had 294 casualties on this day.

  The 2nd/8th battalion were in Somerleyton Suffolk at the time.
  Even though both the 1/5th and 1/8th could have been James’ Battalion at the time of his death we have to go with the 1/5th as both the Soldier’s effects register and also the Commonwealth War Graves report for Puchevillers report James Jordan of the 5th battalion.

  We turn to the 1/5th battalion diaries for the beginning of September to see what may have happened to James Jordan. As we do not know his enlistment dates, embarkation dates or even when he moved from the 8th to the 5th then we cannot go back further than this.

  26th August 1916 – Acheux Wood
  Battalion marched to Forceville and had dinners there, battalion moved from Forceville at 3.30pm and relieved 11th loyal North Lancs in centre sector in Thiepval Wood. A & B Companies in front line, C in support and D in reserve. Battalion heavily shelled during relief in front line and communication trenches. HQ at Belfast City. D Company sent 1 platoon and Lewis Gun as support to A Company. Casualties 7 other ranks wounded.

  27th August 1916 – Belfast City Trenches
  All Day – Battalion repairing trenches and clearing trenches after previous afternoon’s shelling. Casualties 5 other ranks Wounded.

  28th August 1916 – Belfast City Trenches
  Until 10am – Battalion relieved by 1/6th West Riding Regiment and moved to the left and relieved the 1/8th West Yorkshire Regiment just south of the River Ancre. C & D Companies in the front line, B Company in support on Speyside, A Company in reserve in Paisley and HQ at Gordon Castle. A company sent up 1 lewis Gun to support D Company. Casualties Capt. C.E. Foulds wounded.

  29th August 1916 – Gordon Castle Trenches
  All day – Trenches, parallels and Gordon Castle shelled heavily during the afternoon. A Company moved forward, 3 platoons to Gordon castle and 10 platoon to D Company on Speyside. During the night all damage to parallels repaired by A company and part of B Company and parallels made fit for assembling troops. Casualties 1 other rank killed and 7 wounded.

  30th August 1916 – Gordon Castle Trenches
  Wet all day. Trenches on Battalion front shelled intermittently all day. Battalion bombers established an advanced post in West KOYLI (King’s own Yorkshire Light Infantry) Sap. Casualties 3 other wounds wounded.

  31st August 1916 – Gordon Castle Trenches
  Battalion clearing and repairing trenches after rain. Quiet day, some shelling on communication trenches during the night. Very little damage done. Casualties 2 other ranks wounded.

  1st September 1916 – Gordon Castle Trenches
  All Day – Battalion in trenches, improving and clearing communication trenches where damaged by enemy shell fire. Front line companies withdrawn from post in parallels while artillery and trench mortars cut wire. Hostile artilleryfairly active. Casualties 1 other rank wounded.

  2nd September 1916 – Gordon Castle Trenches
  Battalion holding line and preparing for operations on following day. Companies in front line withdrawn for wire cutting as on previous days. About 4.30pm 1 platoon of A company withdrawn from Speyside to Gordon Castle, also A company’s Lewis Gun. Casualties 1 other rank wounded.

  3rd September 1916 – Gordon Castle Trenches
  Between 2 and 4 am 1/6th and 1/8th West Yorkshire Regiment got into parallels for assault of German front and support lines. About 4am A & B Companies moved into assembly trenches at Gordon Castle and D Company holding British front line first at 8 posts in part of front parallel to cover assembly of troops. About 5am C Company loved to dugouts at Gordon Castle. About 5.10am assaulting battalions attacked German lines, but attack failed. C Company were ordered to take up position in Ross Street about 6.30am. B Company moved up to assist in holding British front line about 7.15am. About 8.10am Battalion advanced to relieve front parallel and prepare to assault German front line. About 8.40 last message cancelled, and A company to be placed at disposal of 1/8th West Yorkshire. HQ at Gordon Castle heavily shelled during the day also front line and communication trenches. About 3.45pm Battalion advanced to form up to attack German front lineimmediately south of the chase. B & D Companies combined and C Company 1/7th West Yorks to take the German front line, A & C companies to take German support line. All Companies formed up in old British front line. About 6.30pm this attack was cancelled. About 12 midnight Battalion was ordered to take over British front line as originally held.

  4th August 1916 – Speyside
  This was done and Battalion was relieved by 1/4th York and Lancs Regiment between 2am and 5.30am and proceeded to Martinsart Wood.

  Casualties:
  Killed: 2/Lts A.C. Watson and C Goodwill and and 20 other ranks.
  Wounded: Major R Cattley, 2/lts Holdich, Reynolds and Baines and 73 other ranks.
  Missing: 10 other ranks.

  5th August 1916 – Martinsart Wood
  From 7.30am – Battalion arrived at Martinsart Wood about 7.30am about 360 strong. Battalion rested all day. Captain Bland left Battalion to Hospital, sick.

  All day – Battalion resting. OC companies making inventory of clothing required. Working party of 80 other ranks from A&B companies and ? carrying trench mortar ammunition. After 5pm Battalion moved to Forceville arriving in billets and bivouacs about about 8pm. Martinsart Woods shelled heavily for 10 minutes about 4.15pm, 20 casualties.

  We know from records that James Jordan (of the 1/5th battalion) died of wounds and was buried at Puchevillers. Puchevillers had been the home of both the 44th and 3rd Casualty Clearing Stations since June in preparation for the actions that were to become the Battle of the Somme.

  The CCS at Puchevillers would have taken casualties who had reported or been taken to the Field Ambulances (First aid posts), then onto Forward Dressing Stations and back to the clearing stations. Their role was to treat the wounded men and prepare them for transportation back to general or Stationery Hospitals at places like Le Treport, Rouen, Calais or Etaples. These hospitals would treat the men or remove them back to Blighty.

  James Jordan would have arrived at the CCS within hours of the fighting when he was wounded, this is transport availability permitting. As the shelling of Martinsart wood was in the late afternoon of the 5th, then we have to suggest that James Jordan’s wounds were most likely received in the fighting on the 3rd August, if not in the preceding days.

  Commonwealth War Graves Commission:
  In memory of Private James Jordan, 5040, 1st/5th Bn., West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wale’s Own) who died on 5 September 1916 Age 41
  Son of William and Mary Jordan, of Wennington, Hunts.
  Remembered with honour, Puchevillers British Cemetery.
  James is also remembered on the war memorial in St Andrew’s Church Witham on the Hill as well as in his native Abbots Ripton. He is also remembered on a page dedicated to his memory on our own website.

  https://www.southlincolnshirewarmemorials.org.uk/…/jam…/

  —————–

  There is a final mystery given to us by the pension records where there are several items that bring it into question on one index card:-

  1. The regimental number is incorrect as it is 4739 and not 5040 as we would expect.

  2. The date of death is listed as the 3rd September 1916

  3. The dependants are listed as two different ones over time.

  i. Mr Patrick Jordan as an amendment to Mrs Kate Jordan (crossed out), Father and Mother. There are two mixed up addresses around York Road Leeds

  ii. Mrs E Sentence, Witham on the Hill, unmarried wife.

  We find out that there is a second James Jordan in the 5th Yorks and the records were mistakenly mixed onto one index card. We now wonder if this is a big mix up as is this the reason that James Jordon (of Witham) has been shown as being in the 1/8th when in the Medal Index and Rolls.

  The other James Jordan was listed as the 1/8th battalion when he was added to the Thiepval memorial to the missing of the somme. He no doubt died on the 3rd September in the actions that most likely saw our James Jordan wounded.

  Without attestation records and service records which we think were destroyed we may never work out if there has been a mix up and the James Jordans have been given the wrong Battalions on CWGC and effects records.

  We know that the 1/8th battalion was fighting alongside the 1/5h battalion in the 146th Brigade of the 49th (West Riding) Division, and so the stories of the two Battalions are intertwined.

  There is a second Index card for our James Jordan that is much cleaner and shows the correct Regimental Number of 5040 in the West Yorks (no Battalion number) and once again we have the mystery of Mrs E Sentence as being James’ dependant. She is of Witham on the Hill and her relationship is just a single question mark. This question mark is written over a half rubbed out wording of “Unmarried Wife”.

  In 1921 we find Mrs E Sentence on the census return. Elizabeth is a 72 year old widow born in Witham on the Hill and her occupation is “Household Duties”. In the house are also Rebecca Sentence (her daughter) aged 45 and son Amos Sentence aged 42. These both appear on the 1911 as the children of Elizabeth and Joseph Sentence.

  Joseph Sentence had died in June 1913 leaving Elizabeth (nee Frisby) as a widow and with James Jordan possibly still in the house.

  The unmarried wife comment on the pensions cards and the fact that Elizabeth was listed as a dependant for James Jordan may indicate that there was a relationship after Elizabeth was widowed.

  A mystery we may never solve.

Sources

• WW1 Soldier’s Records (www.ancestry.co.uk)
• British Newspaper Archive.
• Fold 3
• Find My Past
• Genealogist
• Forces War Records
• British Army Service Numbers
• War Gratuity Calculator
• Commonwealth War Graves Commission
• National Archives – Battalion War Diaries
• General Registry Office

Last Updated – 3rd September 2026