Description
Father: Egypt Medal, 1882, no bar, Khedive’s Star, 1882, Leading Stoker James Squires, HMS Agincourt.
James Squires was born on 20th March 1849 in Compton, Gifford, Devon.
Having worked as a Blacksmith, he first joined the Royal navy aboard HMS Tamar as a Stoker on 1st January 1873. Service number 4249.
Leading up to the Egyptian War he served on Indus, Lily, Juno, Lily, Tyne and then Indus, before joining HMS Agincourt as a Leading Stoker on 19th October 1880.
He remained on board until 28th November 1883 when he returned to HMS Indus until 1886.
He then served on HMS Royalist, from 1886 until 1889, then the Indus from 1889-90, followed by the Black Prince from April 1890 until the 28th February 1891 when he was shore pensioned.
Son, 1914 Star Trio, 14775 Corporal Richard Samuel Squires, 226th Field Company, Royal Engineers, Killed in action, Delville Wood 30th July 1916.
Richard Samuel Squires, was born during October 1883, in Devon, Plympton St Mary, whilst his father was overseas on HMS Agincourt.
Sapper Squires first disembarked in France with the 5th Field Company, Royal Engineers on 15th August 1914.
During the 1911 Census, he was serving in Malta, as a Sapper with 24th Company R.E. aged 26.
He was killed with the 226th Tottenham Field Company, Royal Engineers, among members of the few “Tottenham” Companies of the Royal Engineers were Tottenham Hotspur Footballers, Billy Minter and Findlay Weir.
4 Members of the 226th Tottenham Field Company were killed during the fight for Delville Wood, Squires was the 1st to fall, on 30th July 1916, 2 weeks into the battle.
The Diary for this period reads: 25-27th JUly, Delville Wood/Waterlot Farm, Capture and Consolidation of a great part of Delville Wood, Attack towards Guillemont from Waterlot Farm.”
