Person

Within one month of war being declared James Johnson Sanderson resigned his post as a teacher in Hetton-le-Hole to join the Durham Pals (18 Battalion Durham Light Infantry (DLI)). He survived the horrors of the Somme in 1916, to die during the Battle of Arras the following year. He was just 26 years old.

James was the baby of his family, with six older siblings. He was born in the January of 1891 in Loftus, North Yorkshire, where his father, William, was in charge of the winding-house at the local ironstone mine.

James was a clever boy and after passing the School Certificate, he went on to train as a teacher at Bede College in Gilesgate, Durham City. During his time at the college between 1909 and 1911, James was part of the hockey team.

When war was declared, James was living and working as a teacher in Hetton-le-Hole. He had spent two years previously with the Territorial Army and rushed to join the fight before it was all over, like so many other young men. He attested in Durham on 21 September 1914, and was posted four days later as a private in 18 Battalion, DLI. He was 5′ 8″ tall, weighed just ten stone, with grey eyes, brown hair and a fresh complexion.

Despite the rush to enlist, it would be another year before James left England with his battalion. They left with the British Expeditionary Force for Egypt on 6 December 1915, to help defend the Suez Canal against attack by the Ottoman Empire. However, just three months later, on 5 March 1916, they returned to Europe, to prepare for the “Big Push” on the Western Front, in France.

On 1 July 1916, “B” Company (James’ unit) of the 18th Battalion were ordered forward into the shattered British Front Line at the northern end of the Somme Valley. They remained there under constant shell fire until 5 July. James was one of only 300 men, out of the 800 men of the Battalion, to survive that battle unscathed. He wrote a vivid description of his experiences during one of these German raids, attached below, which mentions many of his fellow Bede scholars.

The following April, he was not so lucky. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British troops attacked German defences near the town of Arras. By this time, James had risen through the ranks to become a sergeant. On 3 May, 18th Battalion was ordered to attack near Gavrelle but was overwhelmed by a furious enemy bombardment. It was there that James was killed in action as he led his platoon forward on 3 May.

James had named his father as his next of kin and his few possessions were returned to William. Among them was a book of poetry; words of beauty in a dark world.

James’ name has not been forgotten. As well as on the War Memorial at Arras, his memory is honoured on the war memorial in St Lawrence Church in his hometown of Loftus, and on the Honour Rolls of the National Union of Teachers and Bede College in Durham.

Civil Parish: Hetton le Hole

Birth date: 15-Jan-1891

Death date: 03-May-1917

Armed force/civilian: Army

Residence: 9 Liverton Terrace, Liverton Mines, Loftus (ecclesiastical parish of St Michael 1891 & 1901 census)
Bede College, Gilesgate, Durham (1911 census)
39 Station Road, Hetton-le-Hole (1916 will)

Education: Bede College 1909-11

Organisation membership: Bede College hockey club 1910/11

Employment: Teacher in Hetton-le- Hole

Family: Parents: William Sanderson (b 1853 in Fylingdales, N Yorks), Elizabeth Sanderson (b 1852 in Monkholm, York)
Siblings: John Sanderson (b 1875), Mary Sanderson (b 1876), Robert Sanderson (b 1878), William Sanderson (b 1880), Elizabeth Sanderson (b 1881), George Gordon Sanderson (b 1884)

Military service:

Regimental number 18/378
Sergeant (promoted 26 March 1917)
18th (Pals) Battalion, Durham Light Infantry

Medal(s): British War Medal
Victory Medal

Memorial(s): War Memorial at Arras
St Lawrence Church, Loftus
Honour Rolls of the National Union of Teachers and Bede College in Durham

Gender: Male

Contributed by Kelloe Visitor, Trimdon Station