James was 22 years old when he was killed in France at the end of August 1916. Born in 1893 in Pelsall, Staffordshire to Eli and ‘Clara’ Croxall he had three full siblings and two half siblings born to his father in a previous marriage from which he had been widowed. 

James’ family history is very interesting and somewhat confusing; his father Eli married Elizabeth Davies on 20th August 1883, and the couple apparently had two children together – Eli (jr) born in 1884 and Mabel born in 1893. However, further children are listed as being born to Clara Croxall (no maiden name, which is odd in itself) and Mabel’s date of birth is particularly incredibly interesting because James himself was also born in 1893 but not to Elizabeth; supposedly to Clara. In 1885 his brother Walter was born, and Clarence and Archibald in 1903 and 1907 respectively. In the 1901 census Eli is listed as ‘Widower’ and is living apparently alone with Eil (jr), Walter, Mabel and James. There is no mention of Clara OR Elizabeth! 

Clara herself is not mentioned with any maiden name which is odd, and her date of birth is reported as ‘1879’, which would have made her the grand old age of 6 when her first son Walter was born. My belief is that Elizabeth was actually the moth of most of Eli’s children, that she died sometime in eh 1890s – after 1893 when James was born but before 1901 when Eli is listed as a Widower - and that Clara was a second wife who gave Eli one or two other children. If that is correct then James was actually the child of Eli and Elizabeth. The confusion, I believe, comes from the 1901 census reporting Clarence, Archibald, Walter and James all as ‘son’ in relation to what appears to be both Eli and Clara however the actual description of the field is ‘Relation to Head of Family’ – Eli – which means only that all four children were Eli’s, not that they were all Clara’s.

Eli brought the family to Denaby in 1904 from Staffordshire,  and Eli himself worked at Cadeby Colliery. At the time of the 1912 pit disaster was an ‘afternoon under-manager’. Sadly he was killed in the disaster and was reported as one of the last to be recovered from the mine.  Clara was unable to attend his funeral as she had been bedridden by illness for three weeks. The newspaper report states that Clarence and Archie both attended his funeral. There is no mention of James at his father’s funeral.

 In 1911 James himself is listed as a Coal Miner. He was 17 and single. He joined 1st Battalion South Staffordshire Regiment of the Army and died on 31st August 1916. He is commemorated on Thiepval Memorial to the Missing, as he has no known grave.