Pte 52847 James Kelly

• Age: 19
• From: Liverpool
• Regiment: The King's (Liverpool Regiment) 17th Btn
• K.I.A Thursday 12th October 1916
• Commemorated at: Thiepval Memorial
  Panel Ref: P&F1D8B &8 C.

James Kelly was born in 1897 and resided in Liverpool and was the son of James Kelly and his wife Ann (nee Gregory). His father James was born in Woolton in 1869 and his mother Ann in Everton in 1871. They were married on the 5^th Jan 1890 at St. Bartholomew, James was a 20 year old horse keeper, father Thomas, whilst Ann was aged 19, father John Walter. They both gave their address as 1 Banastre St, Vauxhall. 

The 1901 Census shows the family living at 348A Netherfield Road, Everton.

James senior was working as a general labourer and he and his wife have six children – Thomas aged 10, Betsy 9, Annie 7, Alice 5, James 4 and 2 year old Margaret. 

The 1911 Census shows the family now living at 12 Hackthorpe Street, Everton, Liverpool.

The father James senior is working as a dock labourer, his wfe wife Ann is a charwoman and they have been married for 21 years and have had seven children of which one had died. They still have three children living at home: Annie Gregory employed in a Sweet Factory, James employed as a Coal Lad and Maggie aged 12 was still at school.

James enlisted in Liverpool and was serving in the 17th Battalion, The King’s Liverpool Regiment as Private No 52847 when he was killed in action on the 12th October 1916 aged 19 during the Battle of the Transloy Ridges which was part of the ongoing Somme Offensive.

17th Bn War Diary: Battle of Transloy Ridge –

11-10-16 - Gird Trench/Gird Support – Battalion in front line and support trenches. British bombardment of enemy front line system commenced about midday. Hostile shelling was intermittent throughout the day.

12-10-16 - Our bombardment continued. Enemy reply weak. 2.5 p.m. Zero hour. Attack on German front line system commenced. Enemy wire was found to be uncut and attack was unsuccessful. Hostile machine gun fire was very heavy and caused many casualties. Battalion H.Q. and Support Trench were heavily shelled throughout afternoon and evening. […] During this action all communication had to be carried out by runners and carrier pigeons as all wires were being continually cut by enemy shelling.

Casualties: 5 officers killed, 5 officers wounded, 38 OR killed, about 225 OR wounded/missing etc.

Graham Maddocks, in “Liverpool Pals” p.140, adds: “As the whistle blew, the 17th Battalion left its trenches to move forward. […] As soon as the attacking waves left their trenches the enemy artillery began to register on them, and at the same time, the defending infantry commenced a murderous rain of fire. […] Although their numbers had been depleted by the British bombardment, they were trained and experienced soldiers, well dug in on high ground, and for the most part, looking out on uncut wire. As such, it was virtually impossible for them to miss the City Battalion men struggling to advance in the mud towards them. The 17th Battalion, on the left, was particularly badly hit, as its portion of No Man’s Land contained a slight rise in the ground, and as the troops emerged onto it they were silhouetted against the sky and became easy targets. Those on the left of the attack, who managed to avoid the hail of bullets and make it to the German wire, then found that it was totally uncut, and thus trapped, they too became easy targets, to be picked off almost at the enemy’s will. It was hardly surprising that, seeing the first waves being wiped out, some of the following waves turned back and made for their start lines. These lines were now packed with other waves of troops, however, and the fleeing men added to the congestion already there, and became easy prey for the German gunners. There is some evidence also, to suggest that at this stage, the British trenches were also being hit by their own heavy artillery shells which were falling short.”

James has no known grave and is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, France.

The Thiepval Memorial, the Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, bears the names of more than 72,000 officers and men of the United Kingdom and South African forces who died in the Somme sector before 20 March 1918 and have no known grave. Over 90% of those commemorated died between July and November 1916.

On 01st August 1932 the Prince of Wales and the President of France inaugurated the Thiepval Memorial in Picardy. The inscription reads: “Here are recorded the names of officers and men of the British Armies who fell on the Somme battlefields between July 1915 and March 1918 but to whom the fortune of war denied the known and honoured burial given to their comrades in death.”

He was reported killed in the Liverpool Daily Post 20th Nov 1916. 

King’s (Liverpool Regiment) - Kelly, 51847, J.; 

Soldiers Effects to father James and pension to mother Ann. 

We currently have no further information on James Kelly, if you have or know someone who may be able to add to the history of this soldier, please contact us.