Captain James Arthur MCCULLOCH
A Company, 1/8th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers

Date of birth: 6th May 1883
Date of death: 27th September 1918

Killed in action aged 35
Buried at Ribecourt Road Cemetery at Trescault Plot II Row C Grave 2
He was born at Lee in Kent on the 6th of May 1883 the son of James McCulloch, Managing Director of a book publisher and printer, and Kate Helen (nee Ward) of 42 Blessington Road, Lee.

He was educated at Lindisfarne (Mr A.M. Kilby’s) School and at the King’s School Canterbury from September 1897 to July 1901 where he was granted a Junior Scholarship in July 1897 and later a Senior Scholarship. In May 1900 he became a member of the sports committee and played for the Rugby XV as a forward for his last two years at the school; he was appointed as a school monitor in 1901.

On leaving school he took the Civil Service Examination (Intermediate) and entered the service of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners as a junior clerk in 1902 with who he remained until the outbreak of war. He was married to Doris Helen (nee Dickinson) At All Saints Church, Notting Hill on the 20th of March 1915. They lived at West Hill House, Worplesdon Hill in Woking and had two children, a son Ian born in 1917 and a daughter Mary born in June 1918.
He enlisted the Inns of Court Rifles on the 21st of May 1909 as Private C/421 and was discharged on the 1st of November 1913.

Following the outbreak of war re re-enlisted on the 23rd of September 1914 and was posted to B Company at Berkhamsted. He applied for a commission in the infantry on the 7th of October 1914 and underwent a medical examination at Berkhamsted, where it was recorded that he was five feet eight and one half inches tall and that he weighed 140lbs. He was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the13th (Reserve) Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers on the 27th of October 1914 which was a training battalion, later merging and becoming the 15th Training Reserve Battalion based at Brocton, Cannock Chase. He was appointed as Adjutant of the merged unit on the 1st of June 1915 serving in that position for two years, having been previously promoted to Captain. Having been refused permission for a posting to the front on three occasions ,due the importance his role in the training of men, he finally embarked for France on the 11th of May 1918 and landed there the same day. He reported to the Base Depot the following day and joined the 1/8th Battalion of his regiment on the 15th of May 1918 while they were in reserve at Couin Wood.

On the 27th of September 1918 the 1/8th Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers was tasked with attacking and penetrating the Hindenburg Line to a depth of two miles to the east of Trescault. The attack moved off at 8.20am but the preparatory barrage in front of the 1/8th Battalion had missed the German front line entirely, the result being that the enemy wire remained uncut and the enemy machine gunners, also untouched by the barrage, were waiting for them. Within minutes all the officers in A Company were killed or wounded. James McCulloch was killed instantly by a rifle shot while leading his company. Despite losing their officers the men under Company Sergeant Major Shackleton took both their objectives with one platoon of A Company reaching the third objective but were ordered to withdraw in case they came under fire from British artillery. Casualties for the attack had been nine officers and one hundred and thirty two other ranks killed wounded and missing in the first half an hour of fighting.
School House

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