JORDAN James Richard

Appears in the Worcester/Worcestershire Roll of Honour Book for naval casualties located in Worcester Cathedral.

James Jordan was born on the 30th November 1896 in Cleeve, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, one of four children of George and Rose Jordan. In 1901 the family consisting of George, Rose, and their 2 sons, James aged 4 and John aged 2, lived in the village of Besford, Worcestershire. By 1911 the family were living in Spetchley, Worcestershire with the addition of a daughter, Ella aged 6. The census records that one of George and Rose’s children had died.

James enlisted as a gunner in the Royal Marine Artillery in Birmingham on 19th January 1914. At the time of his enlistment he was employed as a railway porter and he was 5 feet 8¼ inches tall with light brown hair, greyish brown eyes and a fair complexion. He joined HMS Defence on 28th August 1915 and was lost when the ship was sunk during the battle of Jutland.

HMS Defence was launched in 1907, she sank on 31st May 1916 at the Battle of Jutland. After initial damage she was hit by a salvo which triggered explosions in her ammunition, a further salvo hit and she blew up in a spectacular explosion with the loss of 903 lives.

James Jordan has no known grave, the photograph available shows his name on Portsmouth Naval Memorial.