BOWSTEAD James

James Bowstead was born in 1890 in Hallow, one of 7 children of William and Jane who had married in 1881. On the 1911 census, James was living with his parents and he was employed as a jobbing gardener. He married Agnes N. Johnson in 1914 and later the same year, their son James was born. Prior to enlisting in the army, he worked as a gardener at Whitbourne Hall.

United Parish Magazine, Wichenford, October 1917:
Hardly had we got over the shock of hearing of the death of William Bullock than the news came that James Bowstead had been killed in action.

We feel that he belonged to the parish although he had worked at Whitbourne Hall for some years before he went into the army. I had a very great respect for James Bowstead, he was such a steady and straightforward man. Having worked for us I knew him well, and he was always so reliable and trustworthy. He will be sadly missed, not only by his wife, his parents, his brothers, and sisters, but by a wider circle of friends. There was a large gathering of relatives and friends at the Memorial Service on Sunday evening September 16th.

I only express the universal sentiment when I say that we all deeply sympathise with his sorrowing relatives.

The following entry appears in the United Parish Magazine, St Peter’s Church, Martley, October 1917:
Wichenford – James Bowstead dec’d

James Bowstead has no known grave, the photograph available shows his name on the Ypres Menin Gate Memorial.