Date of birth: 10/12/1887

Place of birth: Ellastone, Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom

Profession: Cheese Manufacturer

Country: England, United Kingdom

Force: British Expeditionary Force

Rank: Private

Service number: 12944

Enlistment place: Lichfield, Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom

Units:  —  Grenadier Guards, 4th Bn.  (Last known unit)

Date of death: 03/08/1917

Place of death: No. 61 Casualty Clearing Station, Dozinghem, Westvleteren, Belgium

Cause of death: Died of wounds (D.O.W.)

Age: 29

British War Medal Medal — 28/01/1920

Victory Medal Medal — 28/01/1920

James Brassington, a Dairy Farmer and Cheese Manufacturer from Ellastone, Staffordshire, served as a private in the 4th Battalion Grenadier Guards, part of the 3rd Guards Brigade, of the Guards Division. On the opening day of the Third Battle of Ypres the Division attacked with the 2nd Guards and 3rd Guards Brigade; the 1st Guards Brigade was in support. It advanced from positions at the Ypres-IJzer Canal towards the hamlet of Wijdendrift and towards the northern edge of the village of Langemark. At 3.50 a.m., zero hour, the attacking units of the Guards left their positions. The 4th Battalion Grenadier Guards were in second line. They advanced on the left of the divisional flank. After the first two objectives had been captured, the units in the second line were to take over the advance. With the 4th Grenadier Guards allotted to take the third objective at Fourche and Captain’s Farm.

At 7.15 a.m. the first two objective lines had been consolidated and the 4th Grenadiers commenced their advance from Lapin Farm to the third objective. As soon as they pushed forward the men came under machine-gun fire coming from concrete emplacements at Abri Wood and from positions on the railroad in the 38th Divisional area. The men of the 38th Division had been unable to take out these vital strongpoints. But notwithstanding the withering machine gun fire the Battalion continued to their objective capturing the German strongpoints at Fourche and Captain’s Farm. After the 4th Grenadiers had consolidated these two strongpoints, the German artillery laid down a barrage on the line, causing several casualties. The push to the final objective was then taken over by the 2nd Coldstream Guards, who eventually managed to consolidate positions along the Steenbeek stream on the north-western outskirts of Langemark.

The total casualties in the Grenadier Guards, 4th Battalion were two officers wounded, 15 other ranks killed, 96 wounded and 5 men went missing. Four men later died of their wounds. Private James Brassington was one of them. He was evacuated to No. 61 Casualty Clearing Station, Dozinghem, in the village of Westvleteren, where he died of his wounds on 3 August 1917. James was buried on the adjacent Dozinghem Military Cemetery. He was 29 years old.

4 Battalion Grenadier Guards, (The National Archives, KEW (TNA), WO 95/1223/2). https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C14303 Further reference

McCarthy C., Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account, (London, Uniform, 2018), pg. 32-35. Sources used

Ponsonby F., The Grenadier Guards in the Great War of 1914-19, (London, Macmillan & co. LTD, 1920), pg. 221-226. Sources used

Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/619996

Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=e9e1c751-b918-44a9-9818-08ae1de368f2

Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/475779