James Leslie Lovegrove was the third son of James William Lovegrove. He served in World War I as a teenage soldier in France. In the Imperial War Museum recording below he recalls some of his experiences of life in the Army. It is a fascinating and touching account of a young man pushed into the unfamiliar surroundings and pressures of a brutal war.
When James Leslie Lovegrove was born on March 19, 1898, in Battersea, Surrey, his father, James, was 30 and his mother, Elizabeth, was 27.
During World War I James Leslie was a 2nd Lieutenant in the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, Royal Field Artillery. He was probably awarded the Victory Medal and the British War Medal for his service in France.
In the picture to the left we see James Leslie in uniform with mud on his boots and coat. Perhaps he has been on exercises or maybe he has just returned from France. He is the the garden of the family home at 76, Bolingbroke Grove, Wandsworth. One of his younger brothers, probably Philip Lawrence, lights his cigarette.
In September 1919 he married his Mary Elizabeth Long (1900 – 1984) in Wandsworth, Surrey. They had two sons, Clifton Geoffrey and Philip Alan. James died in November 1992 in Bexhill, Sussex, at the age of 94.
James Leslie Lovegrove – Soldier
An interview recorded by the Imperial War Museum.
British gunner trained with Royal Field Artillery at Royal Artillery Regimental Depot, Woolwich, London, GB, 1916; private trained with Princess Victoria’s (Royal Irish Fusiliers) and officer cadet with No 7 Officer Cadet Bn at Kilworth Camp, Kilworth, Ireland, 1916-1917; officer served with 2/4th Bn Loyal North Lancashire Regt, 170th (2/1st North Lancashire) Bde, 57th (2nd West Lancashire) Div on Western Front, 11/1917-9/1918
Imperial War Museum