Manley Angell James

Early years

Manley Angell James was born in Odiham, Hampshire on 12 July 1896, the son of Dr. John Angell James and Emily Cormel James, the second of four children. The family later moved to Bristol, where Manley was educated at Bristol Grammar School in 1906 and joined the Officers' Training Corps (OTC), where he rose to the rank of sergeant.

First World War

Although intending to follow his father into the medical profession, having already entered a medical course at Bristol University in the autumn, the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, shortly after his eighteenth birthday, saw James, along with many others of his generation, volunteer for service with the British Army instead. As a result, on 1 December 1914, James was gazetted as a temporary second lieutenant into the 8th (Service) Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment.

The battalion, a Kitchener's Army unit raised from civilian volunteers in September, formed part of the 57th Brigade of the 19th (Western) Division (nicknamed "The Butterly Division" due to its divisional insignia) and, after many months of training, departed for service on the Western Front in July 1915, arriving in France on 18 July as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF). The battalion was to remain on the Western Front for the rest of the war. By this time James, promoted to temporary lieutenant on 28 June 1915, was in command of the battalion's lewis gun detachment.

With most of the rest of 1915 spent learning about the basics of trench warfare, July 1916 saw the battalion — commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Adrian Carton de Wiart — engaged in the Battle of the Somme, specifically in the capture of La Boisselle. James was wounded in this action and evacuated to England for treatment. He was mentioned in despatches for his handling of the battalion's Lewis guns, and returned to France in December as a member of the 57th Brigade HQ staff, which was not to his liking. He rejoined his battalion soon afterwards and was again wounded, this time by shrapnel, in February 1917, and in April he was again mentioned in despatches. Promoted to acting captain and given command of 'A' Company, he fought in the Battle of Messines in June 1917, where he was slightly wounded and awarded the Military Cross (MC) for his part in capturing a position called Druid's Farm. James's company was singled out for praise by the division's General Officer Commanding (GOC), Major General Tom Bridges, who issued a special order, awarding a badge of Honour to 'A' Company, enabling the badge to be worn on the right sleeve of every member of James's company.

The German Army launched its Spring Offensive in March 1918 with the aim of cutting off the BEF, deployed mainly in northern Belgium, from the French Army in the south. The German intention was to force a victory on the Western Front before the United States (which had entered the war in April 1917) were able to deploy significant numbers of troops on the Western Front, thereby making victory for Germany all but impossible against the overwhelming resources of the United States.

On 21 March 1918, near Velu Wood, France, Captain James led his company forward, capturing 27 prisoners and two machine-guns. Although wounded, he refused to leave his company and repulsed three enemy assaults over the next day. Two days later, the enemy having broken through, he made a determined stand. His company inflicted heavy losses and gained valuable time for the withdrawal of the guns. After holding out to the last to enable the brigade to be extricated, he led his company forward in a local counter-attack, being again wounded in the process. He was last seen working a machine-gun single-handed, was wounded a third time and eventually taken prisoner.

James's company sustained seventy-five percent casualties in the offensive and many believed James himself to have been killed in action. In May he managed to send a postcard to his father informing him he had been taken prisoner and he was released soon after the Armistice with Germany in November and arrived in England on 25 December 1918.

Between the wars

James was invested with his VC by King George V at Buckingham Palace on 22 February 1919. He was later discharged from the army, and played for Clifton Rugby Football Club for a few years before receiving a permanent Regular Army commission as a lieutenant in the Gloucestershire Regiment. James was one of only two Glosters' officers who had received a wartime commission to be granted a commission in the Regular Army.

In 1925 he served as adjutant of the 1st Battalion, Glosters until 1928. In 1926 he became engaged to Miss Noreen Cooper, marrying her two years later, and had their only child, a son, Peter, born in December 1930. He served with the battalion in Egypt between 1928–1930 before returning to the regimental depot in Bristol and, from 1930−1931 he attended the Staff College, Camberley, where his many fellow students included Miles Dempsey, James Steele, George Symes, George Hopkinson, William Gott, John Nichols and Maurice Chilton.

He returned to the 1st Glosters as a company commander in 1933 and from November 1934 to December 1936 he was a staff officer with Western Command. Promoted to major on 25 December 1936, he served as a brigade major with the 13th Infantry Brigade, part of the 5th Infantry Division, then serving under Northern Command, a post he held until January 1939. In January 1939 he transferred to the Royal Sussex Regiment and, promoted to lieutenant colonel, became Commanding Officer (CO) of the regiment's 2nd Battalion, then serving in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on internal security duties.

Second World War

At the start of the Second World War in September 1939 his battalion was sent to England where it became part of the 133rd Infantry Brigade of the 44th (Home Counties) Infantry Division, a Territorial Army (TA) formation, then preparing for overseas service in France.

In March 1940 he became a GSO1 and served on the staff of the 54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division, another TA formation, then commanded by Major General John Priestman. In July he was promoted to brigadier, and served on the staff of the newly created VIII Corps. In February 1941 he was assigned as CO of the 128th Infantry Brigade, then serving as part of the 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division, commanded by Major General Charles Allfrey, and comprising three TA battalions of the Hampshire Regiment (later Royal Hampshire Regiment). In August 1942 the 43rd Division, now commanded by Major General Ivor Thomas, was reorganised as a 'mixed' division and the 128th Brigade transferred to Major General Harold Freeman-Attwood's 46th Infantry Division.

After months spent training in desert warfare, James led the brigade overseas to North Africa in mid-January 1943, where it fought throughout the Tunisian Campaign until its end in mid-May with distinction, earning James a Distinguished Service Order (DSO). The campaign came to an end in mid-May 1943, with the surrender of thousands of Axis soldiers. The brigade then, after initially being held in reserve for the Allied invasion of Sicily, settled down for training before taking part in the Allied invasion of Italy where his brigade, along with the rest of the division, now commanded by Major General John Hawkesworth, sustained very heavy casualties and James himself was wounded on 20 September and evacuated to Egypt.

In 1944 he was assigned to the General Staff of Middle East Command, and was transferred to the General Staff for Training Home Forces. Finally, in 1945, he became the CO for the 140th Infantry Brigade, a training formation.

Post-war

Between 1948 and 1951 he was the Director of Ground Defence for the Air Ministry. In 1951 he retired from the military at the rank of brigadier. Dying in Westbury on Trym at the age of 79 on 23 September 1975, he was cremated at Canford Cemetery.

His VC is on display in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery at the Imperial War Museum, London.