15th May 1918

Acting 2nd Corporal James William Alfred Borley died of wounds on 15th May 1918 at the 17th Casualty Clearing Station, whilst serving with the Railway Operating Division of the Royal Engineers. He was 25 years old, and had been born in Hampton-in-Arden in 1892.

Alfred, as he was known, was the third of the four children of parents Alfred (a domestic gardener) and Ellen (née Clarke) (a dressmaker). The bride and groom were both from Suffolk and married in Ipswich in 1887. They moved to Barston by 1889 and Hampton-in-Arden by 1891.

All of their four children were known by middle names, rather than their first given names. The eldest child, and only daughter, Gertrude Mabel (1888-1960) was known as Mabel. The eldest son, Alfred Charles Felix (1890-1967) was known as Felix, and the youngest son, Arthur Leonard (1897-1984) was known as Leonard.

Alfred followed in his father’s footsteps and had become a domestic gardener by 1911 when he was living in Fentham Road, Hampton-in-Arden with his widowed mother, his sister, and youngest brother. His older brother, Felix, was living in Nuneaton and working as a railway plate-layer. Felix and Leonard both also served in the Army, according to a report in the Coventry Herald 25th May 1918.

James William Alfred Borley is buried at Longuenesse (St. Omer) Souvenir Cemetery and is commemorated locally, as A. Borley, on Hampton-in-Arden war memorial.

If you have any further information, please let us know.

Tracey
Heritage & Local Studies Librarian

tel.: 0121 704 6977
email: heritage@solihull.gov.uk