230628 Pte. James Hughes British Army 9th Btn. West Yorkshire Regiment from:Leeds James Hughes had five children, he signed up in 1915 thinking, as he was 35 and married, he would not be called up, but a few months later he was. He trained for the following summer and was sent to war. We are told he was near or at a large gun when his comrades were blown up and died and he sustained shrapnel down his spine. We do not know what hospital he was taken to but he was given a clerk's position with a quartermaster. The shrapnel was near his spine and he found it difficult to continue. He was discharged ten months later, from where we do not know. He spent the rest of his life in pain taking any work he could find to support his family without any pension from the army. He dragged his leg and young men laughed at him. He died at the age of 59 with shrapnel still growing out of his back and thigh.
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