Patrick Edward Samuel James
Memorial: Kingswood - Holy Trinity Church
Regiment: Royal Tank Regiment
Medals: 1939–45 Star, War Medal 1939–1945
Rank and number: Trooper 420987
Parents: Leonard Theodore and Rosina May James
Home address: Kingswood, Bristol
Date of birth: 1920
Place of birth: Somerset
Date of death: 13/06/1942
Buried/Commemorated at: No known burial site but commemorated at Alamein Memorial (Column 23.) and Kingswood Memorial
Age: 22
Further information:
6th Royal Tank Regiment, Royal Armoured Corps.
Patrick James’s regiment fought in the Western Desert Campaign and James was killed during the Battle of Gazala. On the 13th of June, the 21st Panzer Division advanced from the west and engaged the 22nd Armoured Brigade in an area known as the Knightsbridge box. Rommel acting on intelligence obtained from Allied radio traffic intercepts showed superiority in tactics in his use of guns and tanks so that by the end of the day, the British tank strength had been reduced from 300 tanks to about 70. Patrick was one of many resulting casualties and he died from his wounds on what came to be known as ‘Black Saturday’.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
This information has been provided by Sarah Hands, Volunteer Researcher for the South Gloucestershire War Memorials Web Site.
By kind permission, this information is based on the following source(s):
https://www.cwgc.org/
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/
https://www.findmypast.co.uk/
https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/