15089 James Pierpoint

15089 James Pierpoint born 1881 in Scholar Green, third eldest son of Thomas and Ellen Pierpoint, Kidsgrove. Occupation miner, height 5 feet 7 ½ inch, weight 103lbs, eye brown and hair black, unmarried.

James enlisted on 04/11/1914 in Macclesfield. Part of his Military Service Records is as follows:

Home (Home means in Britain) 04/11/1914 – 26/06/1915

On the 27/06/1915 embarked for Gallipoli, there is no date of arrival in Gallipoli, once in Gallipoli he would have joined his Battalion.

11/08/1915 suffered head wound in the field, on the 13/08/1915 he was invalided onto S.S.Lanada for Alexandria, admitted into military hospital in Alexandria (name of hospital unknown). Then on the 04/10/1915 he was put on the hospital ship S.S.Andania for England arriving in England on 15^th October 1915.

Home 15/10/1915 – 24/04/1916.

On the 25/04/1916 embarked for Mesopotamia (Basra) – disembarked in Basra on 31/05/1916 joined unit in field. On the 27^th June 1916 he was taken out of the field and admitted to hospital suffering exhaustion, then on the 7^th July 1916 was invalided onto the hospital ship SS Varela for Bombay, James was admitted into Gerard Freeman-Thomas War Hospital on the 14^th July 1916 suffering from Rheumatic Fever. He died at 10:00pm on the 11^th August 1916.

Lt-Col M Read R.A.M.C of the Gerard Freeman-Thomas Hospital wrote on his report:

With reference to his No9521 of the 25^th August 1915 has the hour to submit the following information:

No 15089 Pte. J. Pierpoint, 7^th North Staffords Regt. He was admitted into this hospital on the 14^th July from - - Mesopotamia where he had suffered from heatstroke. On admission he was suffering from Rheumatism with fever. A great number of abscesses developed and he gradually grew weaker and not withstanding vaccine and other treatment died on the 11^th August 1916. I am of opinion that his illness was caused (word missing) contracted on active service in Mesopotamia.

In 1917 James’s father Thomas received James personnel possessions, these consisted of: I pair of boots, pair putties, 1 shirt, 1 towel, pair of khaki knickers, I hair brush, 1 pipe, 1 knight, 1 fork, spoon and toothbrush holder. Then in 1919 he received the first of his medals the 1914-15 star, and then in 1921 he received his British war and Victory Medal, then on the 21^st January 1922 Thomas was sent a letter and enclosed was a photo of James’s grave (there is no copy of this photo).