Correctly named 17921 Pte CJ Creed C Gds
Defence Medal unnamed as issued
Christopher James was born to Harry and Rosa in Horspath, Oxfordshire in 1894.
We find him living at 2 High Street, New Headington, Oxford with his family in 1911. He was later to be employed as an asylum attendant.
He enlists into the Coldstream Guards in 1915. He married Emma Louisa Allard in the August of 1916 and heads to France November 1916. His address at this point is Emma’s parents, 10 Wallbridge Avenue, Frome, Somerset.
Upon arriving in France, he is assigned to the 7th Entrenching Battalion Coldstream Guards and is seen to be a qualified bomber. A week later we see he is attached to 256 Tunnelling Company, Royal Engineers, nicknamed ‘The Moles’.
He is submitted permanently to hospital in the December of 1916 with fatigue and later dermatitis however he is reunited with the 256th Tunnelling Company in September 1917 presumably as a tunneller.
He is appointed as unpaid Corporal in December 1917.
He is returned to hospital in June 1918 with ICT of the foot and subsequently returned to England the same month as also was suffering from shellshock.
In 1921, he is still living at Wallbridge Avenue and is working for Mr J Coles, Auctioneers at Rodden Lake, Frome. He is employed as a domestic gardener.
In 1939, he is with his family now living at 80 Broadway, Frome. He is working as a cinema attendant and is also a War Auxiliary Policeman.
The War Reserve Police were introduced in 1939 and at the height of World War II in 1944 there were 17,000 war reserve constables. The rank was dissolved on 31 December 1948, causing 686 officers to be discharged from service, and the remainder being recruited for service as a regular or special constable.
Most officers were aged between 25–55 and undertook twelve hours of unpaid annual training
Despite British police traditionally being unarmed, officers were armed with Canadian Ross rifles during wartime for protection from enemy action, enemy sabotage and to assist with the armed forces.
Duties of a WRC included the usual activities of a constable, as well as:
- enforcing blackouts,
- combating black market activity,
- assisting in evacuations and air raids
- and capturing deserting soldiers.
Regular police officers were supported by 39,500 male auxiliary officers on full-time service (War Reserve Constables) as well as thousands of Special Constables.
Christopher died in 1961 and is buried at Headington Cemetery, Oxfordshire.
He is entitled to a WWI Pair but the British War Medal is missing from the group.
The medals have original (albeit tatty) silk ribbons.
