Information about birth

Year of birth:
1891
Place of birth:
Warrenby, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom

General information

Profession:
Shipping Clerk

Army information

Country:
England, United Kingdom
Force:
British Expeditionary Force
Rank:
Rifleman
Service number:
C/12410
Enlistment place:
Redcar, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom
Units:
 —  King's Royal Rifle Corps, 21st Bn. (Yeoman Rifles)  (Last known unit)

Information about death

Date of death:
05/08/1917
Place of death:
Impact Reserve, Battle Wood, Belgium
Cause of death:
Killed in action (K.I.A.)
Age:
26

Memorial

Distinctions and medals 2

British War Medal
Medal — 09/02/1920
Victory Medal
Medal — 09/02/1920

Points of interest 2

#1 Place of birth
#2 Enlistment place

My story

Rifleman James Nelson served in the King’s Royal Rifle Corps 21st Battalion, part of the 124th Brigade of the 41st Division.
After the Battle of Pilckem Ridge, which took place from the 31st of July to the 2nd of August, the 21st remained in the area north of Hollebeke. The Battalion was positioned in the Impact Reserve at Battle Wood.
On the 5th of August 1917, the Germans tried three times to recapture the area near Hollebeke. All these attacks were eventually repulsed. The 21st King’s Royal Rifle Corps was heavily shelled throughout the day. At 9.30 p.m., the Germans launched an attack. The Germans couldn’t advance, partially due to the artillery and machine gun fire from the 21st Battalion of the King’s Royal Rifle Corps. The attack was fend off, but the King’s Royal Rifle Corps 21st Battalion had suffered heavy casualties due to the German shelling.
It’s highly possible Rifleman James Nelson was killed in action, due to the German shelling on his Battalion’s position at Impact Reserve. He died on the 5th of August 1917, just northeast of Hollebeke. His remains were never identified and James Nelson is remembered at the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial.

Files 1

Sources 6

"The King's Royal Rifle Corps Chronicle: 1917, Volume 4", Byron R. ed., London, Warren and Son, 1920, pg. 227.
Sources used
"The Third Ypres Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account", McCarthy C., London, Arms & Armour Press, 1995, pg. 35.
Sources used
Ancestry
http://home.ancestry.co.uk/
Further reference
CWGC
https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/918671/nelson,-james/
Sources used
The Long, Long Trail
http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/
Sources used
War Diary King's Royal Rifle Corps 21st Bn.
http://www.nmarchive.com/
Further reference