Les James

Australian rules footballer

Les James
James in 1910
Personal information
Full name	Leslie Joseph James
Date of birth	(1890-06-29)29 June 1890
Place of birth	Geelong, Victoria
Date of death	22 October 1917(1917-10-22) (aged 27)
Place of death	Passchendaele salient, Belgium
Original team(s)	Mercantile
Position(s)	Rover / Wing / Forward
Playing career¹
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
1909–11, 1913–15	Geelong	72 (14)
¹ Playing statistics correct to the end of 1915.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Leslie Joseph James (29 June 1890 – 22 October 1917), also known as "Jack James", was an Australian rules footballer who played with Geelong in the Victorian Football League.^[1]

He was killed in action in World War I. He died on the Passchendaele salient in 1917.

Family

Fifth of the eighth children of Joseph James (1856–1902), and Martha James (1857–1930), née Smith, Leslie Joseph James was born at Geelong on 29 June 1890.

He married Alice May Ward (1888–1963) in 1913. They had two children: Leslie Thomas James (1913–1979), and Iris May James (1915–1993).^[2]

Two of his brothers, Frederick William "Fred" James (1884–1948) and Sydney Harold "Syd" James (1898–1969), also played with Geelong: Fred, played two games in 1908, and Syd played four games in 1919.

Football

He played 72 senior games with Geelong.

Death

He was killed in action on 22 October 1917.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

Footnotes

^ In some sources, he is listed as playing for Geelong again in 1919; however it was actually his brother, Syd James (1898-1969) on debut.
^ Photograph: Private Leslie Joseph James (7117), Australian War Memorial.
^ In Memoriam: James, The Geelong Advertiser, (Tuesday, 22 October 1918), p.1.
^ Australian Red Cross Society Wounded and Missing Enquiry Bureau Files, 1914-18 War: 7117 Private Leslie Joseph James, Australian War Memorial.
^ Well-Known Footballer Killed, The Geelong Advertiser, (Wednesday, 28 November 1917), p.4.
^ Private Leslie James, The Ballarat Courier, (Monday, 10 December 1917), p.4.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Les James.

First World War Nominal Roll, Private Leslie Joseph James (7117), 14th Australian Infantry Battalion, Australian War Memorial.
World War I Service Record: Leslie Joseph James (7117).
Roll of Honour: Private Leslie Joseph James (7117), Australian War Memorial.
374th Casualty List: Victorian Details Shown: Killed in Action, The (Melbourne) Herald, (Saturday, 22 December 1917), p.12.
Holmesby, Russell & Main, Jim (2007). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers. 7th ed. Melbourne: Bas Publishing.
Main, J. & Allen, D., "James, Les", pp. 88–90 in Main, J. & Allen, D., Fallen – The Ultimate Heroes: Footballers Who Never Returned From War, Crown Content, (Melbourne), 2002.