James Stuart Swift 1885-1916

James and Alice Swift (from a collection in Barnsley Archives, with thanks)

Born:
Barnsley on 15 September 1885
Baptised at St. Mary's Church Barnsley on 10 October 1885

Son of:
James and Sarah Swift (nee Morton) who married in March 1880 in Sheffield.
His father was a bank cashier and eventually became a bank manager.

James was the younger of two children. His elder sister was Muriel Morton Swift,
born in Barnsley on 22 April 1881 and baptised at St. Mary's Church Barnsley on 19 May 1881.

Census information:
1891: James aged 5 lived with his parents, aunt, and a servant at 13 Victoria Crescent Barnsley.
1901: James aged 15 was at Ackworth School. His family were living at Heath House, Silkstone Common.
1911: The family now lived at 2 Beech Grove Barnsley and James aged 25 was a bank clerk, his profession on enlistment at the age of 28.

Marriage:
James married Alice Maud Watkinson in Sheffield on 22 April 1915. 

Children:
James Stuart Morton Swift who was born in Sheffield in June 1916.

Military Service:
Enlisted: 11 September 2014 at the age of 28 - only 4 days before his 29th birthday.
Regiment and Battalion: York and Lancs Regiment, 12th Service Battalion (Sheffield Pals)  
Service number and rank: 12/1064 Private
Awarded: British War Medal and the Victory Medal
 
James served in the Mediterranean between 20 December 1915 and 9 March 1916 and served in France from 10 March 1916 until his death on 1 July 1916 on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.

Death:     1 July 1916 aged 30
Buried at: Luke Copse British Cemetery Puisieux
Grave Reference:  18

Information from Commonwealth War Graves Commission:
Son of James and Sarah Swift, of Beech Grove, Barnsley; husband of Alice Maud Bradbury (formerly Swift), of Woodhouse, Sheffield.

Remembered:
Holgate Grammar School Old Boys WW1 Memorial and the St Georges Church Memorial Plaque

Links & Notes:
Lives of the First World War
Commonwealth War Graves Commission

More information about this man is available on request