Special thanks to Norfolk Libraries
Private James Lambe
1st/5th Battalion (Prince of Wales’s) Devonshire Regiment attd. 2nd Battalion Dorsetshire Regiment
Killed in Action
Date of Birth: March 1896
Place of Birth: Shaldon, Devon
Date of Death: 31 December 1916 aged 20
Buried: Al Basrah, Basra, Iraq. Commemorated on Basra Memorial, Iraq and the Shaldon War Memorial
Awarded the 1914-15 Star, The British War Medal and the Victory Medal
Private James Lambe, age 20.
James was born in Shaldon, son of John and Harriet Lambe.
He was baptised in St Nicholas Church on 16 January 1896.
The 1901 census shows that his father John, was born in Lustleigh, Devon in 1859 and was working from his home as a blacksmith. James's mother Harriet was born in North Tawton, Devon in 1859.
At that point James and some of his siblings (Leonora, James, William and Ivy) are living with their parents at 76 Ringmore Road in Shaldon.
The 1911 census it shows that his family are still living in Shaldon. His parents have had eight children of which three have died. James and his siblings William and Ivy are living at home, they also now have a younger brother Hubert.
James's father at this point running a business as a blacksmith/plumber and employing James and his brother William.
The births of James and William were both registered as March 1896 which suggests that they are twins and that William will also be of an age to enlist.
Devonshire Regiment
cap badge
James enlisted in Teignmouth, joining the 2nd, Devonshire Regiment (Territorials), service no. 240224.
The Teignmouth Post reported on 23 June 1916 that he was believed to have been taken prisoner at Kut.
He was listed as killed in action on 31 December 1916 in Mesopotamia and was buried at Al Basrah, Basra, Iraq.
Private Lambe is commemorated on Basra Memorial, Iraq and the Shaldon War Memorial.
The Seige of Kut
In December 1915, in Mesopotamia (Modern Iraq), a British-Indian garrison in the town of Kut was put under siege by the Turks. The already weakened defenders were soon starving and sickness became rife.
Fifty men from the 1/5th Devons were drafted to join the 2nd Dorsets in a composite battalion, as part of the force sent to relieve the garrison.
A view across part of Kut. A bomb damaged minaret and a British Union Jack flying from a flagpole. © IWM (Art.IWM ART 2436)
Times history of the war 1914-1918. Public Domain
The Tigris Corps made several attempts between January and March 1916, to lift the siege of Kut al-Amara; all of which were unsuccessful.
The garrison surrended on the 29 April 1916 and 13,000 men were taken into captivity and marched away. A third died from disease, maltreatment and malnutrition.
Mounds of earth marking the graves of the British in Kut. Bluejackets of the Royal Navy stationed at Kut have collected empty shrapnel cases from the old trenches and placed one on all known spots where dead are buried. © IWM (Q 24534)
The Tigris Corps made several attempts between January and March 1916, to lift the siege of Kut al-Amara; all of which were unsuccessful.
The garrison surrended on the 29 April 1916 and 13,000 men were taken into captivity and marched away. A third died from disease, maltreatment and malnutrition.
"None of them fit to march five miles ... full of dysentery, beri-beri, scurvy, malaria and enteritis; they had no doctors, no medical stores and no transport.
The hot weather, just beginning, would have meant much sickness and many deaths, even among troops who were fit, well-cared for and well supplied.".
Geoffrey Elton, historian and war poet
(He saw the men being marched away)
This emaciated Indian soldier was photographed after he had been liberated during an exchange of prisoners. © IWM (Q 79446)
We know of seven local men who were at Kut, 3500 miles from home.
Six were in the Tigris Corps, the force sent to relieve the garrison:
Private Alfred Albert Vicary of Teignmouth, aged 16, died of wounds.
Private Robert Dewhurst of Teignmouth died of disease four days after the garrison surrendered.
Major Ernest Bird Barratt of Teignmouth was wounded in the battle, taken prisoner and died of his wounds.
Major Frederick William Birch of Shaldon died of wounds in the Battle of Hanna.
Private James Lambe of Shaldon, was believed to have been taken prisoner when the garrison surrrended and died later.
Private William Alfred Prowse of Teignmouth, was part of the Garrison force when Kut had been retaken in 1917, William died of heatstroke.
Lance Corporal Charles Francis Stephens of Teignmouth was part of the relief force. Charles survived WW1 but was killed in WW2 when Teignmouth was heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe.
