Name
James William Bloor (*1)
1890
Conflict
First World War
Date of Death / Age
16/07/1916
26
Rank, Service Number & Service Details
Private
12888
Bedfordshire Regiment
6th Bn.
Awards: Service Medals/Honour Awards
1914 /15 Star, British War and Victory medals
Cemetery/Memorial: Name/Reference/Country
ST. SEVER CEMETERY EXTENSION, ROUEN
A.26.22
France
Headstone Inscription
THE CALL WAS SHORT THE SHOCK SEVERE TO PART WITH ONE WE LOVED SO DEAR
UK & Other Memorials
John Dickinson & Co Memorial, Apsley Mills, Apsley,
St Mary's Church Memorial, Apsley End,
Hemel Hempstead Town memorial,
Not on the Rickmansworth memorials
Pre War
James William Bloor (known as William) was born in 1890 in Rickmansworth, the son of Joseph and Mary Bloor and one of eight children, although two seem to have died in infancy. He was baptised on 2 February 1891 at Croxley Green, Herts. At the 1891 census, aged 8 months, he lived with his parents Joseph and Mary and four siblings at Providence Terrace, New Road, Croxley Green. His father Joseph worked as a boatman and came from a canal family as both his grandfather William and his uncle Daniel were boatmen.
By 1901 the family had moved to Nash Mills where Joseph was a lock keeper on the Grand Junction canal. William attended Apsley Boys School and several of his schoolfriends named in the school registers are also named on the Hemel Hempstead War Memorial. He left school in 1904 and started work at G B Kent, brush makers of Apsley, later moving to John Dickinson & Co, paper manufacturers.
In 1911 the family were living at 15 Weymouth Street, Apsley. Joseph was still working as a waterman but William, aged 20, worked as a packer at the paper mill. One of his brothers and a sister also worked there. Although in later years he used only his second name of William, the dedication to Private J W Bloor, Bedfordshire Regiment, on the Apsley memorial of John Dickinson and Co. does seem to refer to him.
(His father died in April 1915 not long before he was sent to France)
Wartime Service
He enlisted in Hemel Hempstead in August 1914 and was sent to Aldershot, Hants to train. He served with the 6th Battalion, Bedfordshire Regiment from 30 July 1915 as part of 112th Brigade and 37th Division.
On the first day of the Somme offensive, 1 July 1916, the battalion was held in reserve at Bienvillers-au-Bois. They moved into front line trenches on 8 July and took part in the attack on Pozieres on 15 July during the battle of Bazentin Ridge. The 112th Brigade attacked from trenches south of Contalmaison but were held up by machine gun fire about 200 yards south of Pozieres. The battalion suffered 330 casualties, about one third of its total strength.
James William Bloor died of wounds, age 26, on 16 July 1916 at the 9th General Hospital, France, which was based at Rouen between November 1914 and June 1917 and is buried at St Sever Cemetery, Rouen.
Additional Information
*1 Appears as W J Bloor in the CWGC records.
His mother, Mrs Mary A Bloor, 15 Weymouth Street, Apsley End, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, ordered his headstone inscription: “THE CALL WAS SHORT THE SHOCK SEVERE TO PART WITH ONE WE LOVED SO DEAR”.
His mother received a war gratuity of £8 10s and pay owing of £8 3s 11d.
His brother John Albert Bloor also served with the Bedfordshire Regiment, 2nd Battalion and served in France from 9 June 1915. He saw action at Ypres, Festubert, Loos, Givenchy and the Somme where he was wounded and invalided home. After hospital treatment he was discharged in February 1918 as medically unfit for service. His cousin, Dan Bloor also served with the Bedfordshire Regiment but died on 18 June 1917.
His brother Ernest had been serving with the Hong Kong Police but returned to England and joined the King's Royal Rifles.
Acknowledgments
Brenda Palmer
Malcolm Lennox, Mike Collins, www.dacorumheritage.org.uk, www.hemelheroes.com.,
