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Alan & Beverly Leeson

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 ˝ 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 15th 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 27th June 1916 he was taken out of the field and admitted to hospital suffering exhaustion, then on the 7th July 1916 was invalided onto the hospital ship SS Varela for Bombay, James was admitted into Gerard Freeman-Thomas War Hospital on the 14th July 1916 suffering from Rheumatic Fever. He died at 10:00pm on the 11th 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 25th August 1915 has the hour to submit the following information:

No 15089 Pte. J. Pierpoint, 7th North Staffords Regt. He was admitted into this hospital on the 14th 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 11th 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 21st January 1922 Thomas was sent a letter and enclosed was a photo of James’s grave (there is no copy of this photo).

Medal Card