James Dykes Black, MC

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RankMajor, acting Lt Colonel
Medals1914-15 Star, Allied Victory Medal, British War Medal, Military Cross.
regimentHighland Light Infantry
Military Service

Territorial Soldier, Captain 1st Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers. Resigned Commission on March 31st 1908. Enlisted Glasgow 1914 and commissioned Temporary Captain in the 5th (City of Glasgow) Battalion Highland Light Infantry on October 19th 1914. Proceeded South from Leven on May 19th 1915, re-joining the Battalion in Egypt on June 6th 1915. Landed Gallipoli July 2nd 1915. Took command of ‘D’ Company on the wounding of Captain J. A. Findlay on July 3rd 1915. Sent to hospital suffering from dysentery on July 20th. Departed from Gallipoli with the battalion on January 8th 1916. In Egypt through 1916 and 1917. Participated in the First and Second Battles of Gaza and Palestine Campaign. Took part in heavy fighting for control of Sausage Ridge during the night of October 7th/8th 1917. The citation for his Military Cross described how “he led hid company with great skill and determination in an attack. He captured his objective four times, but was driven back on each occasion by enemy counter-attacks. Whilst reconnoitring, with a view to making a fifth attempt, he was severely wounded.” Invalided back to Egypt and then eventually to the UK.

Born

20th December 1878

Death5th July 1918
Circumstances of Death

Died of wounds sustained on 5th July 1918 in Yorkhill Hospital, Glasgow and was buried on 8th July 1918 in the Glasgow Necropolis.

Age39
BurialGlasgow Necropolis
CWGC Information

Son of Archibald Campbell Black and Agnes Gray Black, of 27, Huntly Gardens, Kelvinside, Glasgow.

Parents

Archibald Campbell Black (1846-1912) & Agnes Gray Dykes (1850-1935).

Father's Occupation

Writer/Law Agent

Siblings

Archibald Campbell Black (1877-?)

Spouse

Unmarried

Education

University of Glasgow

Occupation

Writer/Law Agent with M’Grigor, Donald & Co.

1881 Census

Sunday, April 3rd:
Aged 3, staying at 30 Clarendon Street, Glasgow, Lanarkshire. Born Govan, Lanarkshire.

1891 Census

Sunday, April 5th:
Aged 12, Scholar, visiting Scoular household, Millgate Manse, Cupar, Angus, Fife with his parents. Born Pollockshields, Renfewshire.

1901 Census

Sunday, March 31st:
Aged 22, Law Clerk, staying at 27 Huntly Gardens, Govan, Lanarkshire. Born Glasgow, Lanarkshire.

1911 Census

Sunday, April 2nd:
Aged 32, Law Agent, staying at 27 Huntly Gardens, Govan, Lanarkshire. Born Pollockshields, Renfrewshire.

Home Address

27 Huntly Gardens, Govan, Lanarkshire.

Glasgow NecropolisCompartment Zeta Lair 178
Other Memorials

Scottish National War Memorial

Other Information

1904 – Listed as an ordinary member of the Glasgow Judicial Society, headquartered in the faculty buildings, St. George’s Place, Glasgow.
Died testate leaving an estate valued at £8003 8s; his brother Archibald C Black, Advocate of 10 Forres Street, Edinburgh was his executor.

Acknowledgements and Sources

Commonwealth War Graves Commission – registration records.
Ancestry.co.uk – British Army WW1 Medal Index Cards and Medal Rolls. Scotland, National Probate Index.
The National Army Museum – UK Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects 1901-1929.
The Mitchell Library, Glasgow – Glasgow, Lanarkshire Electoral Registers 1913-1915.
Scotlandspeople.gov.uk – 1891, 1901 and 1911 Census Scotland returns. Statutory Birth Records.
The London Gazette, 3 November, 1914. Supplement May 13th 1918.
Royal Highland Fusiliers Museum – The Highland Light Infantry Chronicle, 1918.
The University of Glasgow – Biography of James Dykes Black.

N.A. (1904) Index Juridicus: The Scottish Law List and Legal Directory. Edinburgh: Grange Publishing Woks.

Morrison (1921) The Fifth Battalion Highland Light Infantry In The War 1914-1918. Glasgow, MacLehose Jackson & Co.

Gallery

James Dykes Black - Monument - Zeta James Dykes Black - Monument - Zeta
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Credits

Compiled by Euan Loarridge, University of Glasgow

 

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