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Private James Cooper (7575) 1st Btn Hampshire Regiment


pudsey63

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I'm trying to piece together some more information on this man who was born in 1891/2 in Petersfield. In 1901 he was a 'patient' in the local workhouse. Judging by his army number he enlisted  between 1905 and 1906 and was only about 14 years old. Was this likely and what might he have been doing at that stage?

Any information much appreciated. 

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Pre-war enlistment of boy soldiers (and Boys in the RN) at 14 wasn't unusual, with initial service as buglers etc.  See my avatar, born 1890, enlisted 1904 as RGA bugler.

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Thank you John. I thought it must have been something like that.

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1911 Census a Musician in 1 Hampshires at Aldershot. 1914 the unit was at Colchester and shipped out from Southampton (ships "Braemar Castle" and "Cestrian") on 22nd to France , landing on 23 Aug 1914 as part of 11 Infantry Brigade of 4 Division.

Killed in Action on 26 April 1915 at Verlorenhoer during the Battles of 2nd Ypres. Unit shelled on that day with heavy casualties. KIA 4 Officers and 54 Other Ranks / 2 Officers and 100 ORs wounded, and 9 ORs missing. The unit war diary WO95/1495/2 can be read online, either a download from this database:

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14016991

or from the Ancestry UK database of WW1 war diaries (subscription or free at a Library) under reference 1495/2, where pages from around 81 to 90 (of 639) will show daily narrative plus a month-end report from the OC 1 Hants which is worth reading. Also this link:

https://gillww1.wordpress.com/category/arg-with-1st-hants-37th-1914-to-1915/

Edited by sotonmate
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Thank you Sotonmate. I'll take a look at the war diary. 

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