Additional information and photographs

Thanks to the generosity of his family, we are able to publish the following very full account, with photographs, of the most highly decorated soldier on the Board of Trade Roll of Honour.  James Vanner was awarded the rare combination of DSO, MC and Bar in a short career on the Western Front of a little over 2 years.  He survived the war to receive his medals from the King in December 1918 but, weakened by wounds and the effects of gas, he died in March 1919, four days short of his 23rd birthday.    

Inscription on grave of J C Vanner at Poole (Branksome) Cemetery, Dorset (click on image on the left of this page to see larger version)

Photograph of James Vanner wearing his MC ribbon, taken in Paris, July 1917

Click on the image on the left of this page to view a larger version

Photographs of procession and military funeral for James Vanner held at Parkstone, Dorset, 31 March 1919 are  also displayed on the left of this page. All photographs courtesy of A R Vanner

Early life

James Vanner, known in his family as Jim, spent his early years in Earlsfield, where his father had a building firm.  He was educated at Waldron Road and then at the Higher Education Centre at Aristotle Road, Clapham where did well, wining prizes and becoming top boy.  On leaving school he joined the Board of Trade, continuing his studies part-time at a college in Westminster.

When war was declared Jim was 18 and working in the Chief Industrial Commissioner's Department, headed by Sir George Askwith.  He was keen to enlist and, when permission was granted, became a Rifleman in the Queen's Westminster Rifles (3/16 London Regiment).  His attestation papers in May 1915 reveal that he was 5' 7.5 inches tall, with good physical development, good vision and a fully expanded girth of 38".  

Military training

Initially Jim served at home with the Queen's Westminsters,  a regiment favoured by many civil servants with its headquarters so close to Whitehall - but after only six months he applied for a commission, stating his address as The Camp, Richmond Park, Roehampton and quoting as referee the Vicar of Earlsfield who testified to his good moral character, having known him for four years.  His application was successful and on 14 January 1916 he was commissioned in the 11th Reserve Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment, going to Plymouth School for officer training on 24 January.  He finally reached the Western Front in July that year, when the Battle of the Somme was raging and there was a great need for reinforcements to make up for the huge losses sustained so far.

So it was that Jim Vanner did not serve with the South Staffordshires, but instead was sent almost immediately in a draft of 20 new officers to reinforce the 7th Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment.  He served with this unit throughout the war,  and indeed was still serving at the time of his death in 1919. 

On the Western front with 7th Battalion, Leicestershire Regiment

The 7th was one of four new Service Battalions raised in quick succession from the thousands of volunteers in Leicestershire answering Kitchener's call in 1914 for his first hundred thousand soldiers.  The story of these Service Battalions has been exhaustively documented by Matthew Richardson in The Tigers (published Leo Cooper, 2000) , an excellent source for the background to Jim Vanner's wartime career, the men he led and the battles they fought.

Richardson describes how the Service Battalions were made up largely by men from skilled occupations, hosiery hands, engineering apprentices, clerks and office boys, drawn from upper working-class areas of Leicester , as well as miners, industrial and farm workers from Loughborough, Hinckley and Rutland.  These recruits were predominantly taller, fitter, and better fed than their pre-war counterparts, and, more significantly, they were used to a large extent to thinking for themselves .. Properly led, they were capable of displaying an initiative which the pre-war recruit was likely to have had square-bashed out of him.

Together, the four Service Battalions made up the 110th (Leicestershire) Infantry Brigade of the 37th Division and, unusually, served alongside each other throughout the war.  By the time Jim Vanner joined them at the end of July 1916, the Leicesters had been on the Western Front for a year and were recovering and reorganising after a brilliantly successful but hugely costly attack on the Bazentin-le-Petit village and wood on the Somme carried out on the night of 13/14 July.  The 7th Battalion war diary records total casualties from this engagement as 18 officers and 535 men killed and wounded.  The depleted Battalions marched north to Agnez Les Duisans, near Arras, and after eleven days spent chiefly in training, bayonet fighting and physical training, the newly constituted 7th Battalion went into the front line trenches at 11pm on 7 August.  Jim's first night in the trenches is described in the war diary as Very quiet first night, no casualties.  

Promoted Captain and awarded Military Cross

As a Civil Service clerk from London, Jim had no previous links with Leicestershire or his new battalion.  At barely 20 years old, he cannot have had any real experience of being a leader.  Yet he quickly grew into his role as a junior officer, demonstrating cool courage under fire and energetic and inspirational leadership of his troops.  In eight months he was promoted twice and by May 1917 was commanding "A" Company, with acting rank of Captain (made substantive in July).  He is mentioned by name in the war diary report of operations on 3 May, when the Leicestershire Brigade took part in a major assault on the Hindenburg Line positions, part of the wider Battle of Bullecourt which was unsuccessful and resulted in large numbers of the two attacking Battalions (8th and 9th) being taken prisoner.  Jim Vanner was awarded the Military Cross for his part in relieving the pressure on the 8th and 9th Battalions, so allowing them to withdraw.  In the vicinity of Fontaine Wood he showed conspicuous gallantry when leading and controlling the front line of an attack, and in making a daring reconnaissance under heavy fire to clear up a critical situation.  He then consolidated the line taken and repulsed a strong counter-attack (London Gazette, Volume III, 1917). 

Distinguished Service Order

Jim's second outstanding exploit to be recorded took place during the German assault on 21 March 1918, the first day of the Kaiser's Offensive.  In the Leicestershire sector (near Epehy village) the enemy put down a heavy barrage at 4:30 am which lasted about 5 hours, beginning with gas and gradually developing into heavy explosive and shrapnel.  The enemy broke through in places but the Leicesters resisted stoutly and the battle for Epehy raged all day, eventually descending into street fighting in ruined houses and lanes before the Germans finally gained control of the village.  The survivors began a long retreat towards the old Somme battlefield on 1916.  The Brigade had suffered casualties of 31 officers and 1200 men killed, wounded and taken prisoner.  But, according to Richardson, the stand in front of Epehy had been a heroic one which had slowed the German advance and perhaps helped prevent all-out disaster for the BEF.  And the Germans took the unusual step of mentioning byname in their communique, the Leicestershire Battalions which had stood in their path.

For his part in this stand, Jim Vanner was awarded the Distinguished Service Order.  The citation records ?conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty while in command of two companies during a withdrawal.  He made a block in a railway cutting and caused the demolition of two bridges over the railway while the enemy were crossing.  His was fine conduct throughout? (London Gazette, Volume III, 1918).  The Wandsworth Borough News printed a slight variation on the citation: "for splendid bravery and skilful leadership which he showed in holding up for 24 hours the German attack on our lines on 21 March 1918".   

He wrote to his parents with the news of the DSO on 14 May:  "...... Two ribbons will look rather pretty and put another year or two on me.  Having a quiet time now.  We can all do with a little bit of a rest.  The excitement of battle isn't as wonderful as it sounds......... It's a case of here today, in tomorrow, out the next day, if you are still there, and so on..."

Gas poisoning, and plans for life after the war

In a letter to his mother 7 days earlier, Jim had written, "Back out of trouble again alright, got a bit scorched but am picking up fast again " haven?t got much voice at present and chest rather raw but feeling tons fitter already" and then, in a postscript attempt to reassure his mother, "I'm not ill, just after effects of slight gas poisoning".  He mentioned how much he wanted some home leave, but thought it, utterly impossible, though they will open leave again one fine day I suppose?.

That fine day came sooner than expected, for on 28 July Jim wrote to his father after arriving back "in this rotten land of mud and water after a terrible train journey up.  He had spent some of his leave with a girlfriend, Iris, and in this letter mentions that he plans to marry her soon: "exact date I have not fixed yet but early next year (possibly next leave)".  This was a big development in his life and it coloured his attitude to the war.  On 9 August he wrote to his father,  "Having a rather muddy time of it ".. Thinking greatly of the future, this last leave has left me very much disturbed and I can?t settle down to it again yet.  Now I'm absolutely disinterested in my work.. I've suddenly gone stale.

But it appears that this apathy was not long-lasting, for within a fortnight he was back in action and distinguished himself yet again, though on this occasion he was wounded, bringing his short but extraordinary military career to and end and leading eventually to his death 7 months later. 

Bar to the Military Cross

Jim' third outstanding act took place in the final rapid British advance which began in August 1918 and continued until the war was finally won.  On 24 August the 7th Leicesters, fighting on the old Somme battlefield near the Ancre, ran into unexpected opposition from parties of Germans armed with machine guns.  He received a Bar to his Military Cross for conspicuous gallantry and fine leadership during an advance.  His company and another became detached from the rest of the battalion but inspite of this he was instrumental in rounding up four machine guns and strong points, with the result that 78 prisoners were captured.  He displayed great skill and courage until wounded later in the operation? (London Gazette, Volume III, 1918) 

End of the road

Jim finished the war in hospital in Wandsworth.  On 4 October he wrote to his mother, now living in Parkstone, Dorset, "Am going on well". The wound will soon be finished with and they are beginning to let me up for an hour in the afternoon now, my temperature has now gone down to normal, and altogether I'm quite happy. " Did 10 yards on my own feet today, was a bit of an effort but think of the glory of its accomplishment".

There are signs, however, that Jim was in fact facing up to the fact that his health was badly deteriorating, it was not so much the wound as his general weakened condition due to gas poisoning.  In the same letter he said "I shall have to see about resigning from the Civil Service".

He was well enough, just, to attend an investiture at Buckingham Palace on 13 December, though the photograph of him wearing the medals (reproduced at the top of this web page) suggests a sick man.  (The contrast with the boyish face in the photograph taken in Paris barely a year earlier is very noticeable.)  In the Wandsworth Borough News, the King is reported as having enquired as to Jim?s progress from his wounds and then asked his age.  On hearing that he was only 22 years old, the King reportedly told him that he was very young to receive the honours just presented to him.

Jim's health continued to decline and he died of tuberculosis on 19 March 1919 in Bournemouth.  He was buried with full military honours at Parkstone on the 31st.  The series of photographs below begins with the Guard of Honour from the Royal Engineers forming up at Vanner family home, Aliwal, Cromwell Road, Upper Parkstone, then follows the funeral procession to St John's Church (via Jubilee Road, Ashley Road)  and thereafter up the hill to Branksome cemetery.   At the conclusion of the service at the graveside, three volleys were fired and the bugler sounded the Last Post.

James Vanner's war decorations were given by his sister as a legacy after her death to the Regimental Trustees of the Museum of the Royal Leicestershire Regiment.  They may be viewed by appointment with Leicester City Museums Service (contact The Curator, The Newarke Houses Museum, The Newarke, Leicester LE2 7BY).

He is also commemorated on the Memorial to the Staff of the Ministry of Labour, now hanging in Caxton House, Tothill Street, London SW1.

Sources
J C Vanner, Officer's Record of Service (PRO, WO 339/53266); War Diary of the 7th Battalion Leicestershire Regiment (PRO, WO 95/2164); The Tigers, Matthew Richardson (Leo Cooper, 2000); Wandsworth Borough News, 17 April 1919; unpublished family letters and papers.

Details from  1901 census:

Address: 1 Steerforth Street Earlsfield Wandsworth

James Vanner, Head, Age 30, Occupation Working Builder, Born Blandford, Dorset

Mary V Vanner, Wife, Age 30, Born Newmarket, Cambridgeshire

Ada M Vanner, Daughter, Age 6, Born Newington, London

James C Vanner, Son, Age 5, Born Newington, London

Pericival J Vanner, Son, Age 3, Born Lambeth, London

Ronald F Vanner, Son, Age 1 Born Earlsfield, London

Daisy V Vanner, Daughter, Age 5 Months, Born Earlsfield, London

Mary E F E Lamtown, Servant, Age 13, Born Lambeth, London