Pte. Arthur William James
British Army 1st Btn. North Staffordshire Regiment
from:Cheadle, Staffordshire
Arthur James, then aged 19 years, enlisted with the Regular Army in Stoke-On-Trent on 31st of March 1933 for 7 years with the Colours & 5 years in the Reserve. He became an Army medic with 1st Battalion, North Staffordshire Regiment for 13 years between 1933 and 1946. He served 8 and a half years in Poona (Pune), India as a Private (and musician with the battalion's marching band) during peace time.
Arthur was recorded as missing in action on 8th of August 1944, the day before his eldest son was born. He had been captured in Normandy to become an Allied Prisoner of War and was held in Stalag XII-A at Limburg an der Lahn, north-west of Frankfurt, Germany. Later, he was moved south to Stalag VII-A at Moosburg, near Freising, north-east of Munich, Germany and was among those liberated on 29th of April 1945 by American forces (Combat Command A of the American 14th Armored Division).
Arthur was awarded the War Medal 1939-45, France and Germany Star and Burma Star Medals. He came out of the Regular Army on 4th of March 1946 and transferred to the Army Reserve on 5th of March 1946, aged 32 years.
