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Boxing champion
James, a real cockney, was
born January 10, 1904 within the sound of Bow Bells and was one of six boys
in his parent's family. He bore the same name as his father and lived with
the family at 24 Shirley Road,
Enfield, Middlesex and attended
Saint Andrew's primary school. His brothers raised rabbits and carrier
pigeons as a hobby, but James became an avid reader and bookworm. He
continued this interest all his life and his library was a personal treasure
chest of information and delight. As a
young man he became interested in boxing although his short wiry stature and
light weight did not give him the appearance of a boxer. He had a few points
in his favor however - a powerful punch and determination. Although he was
ambidextrous he fought as a southpaw, and his fists earned him the British
flyweight championship. He was extremely proud of his champion's buckle.
At age 26, James met Ita Ada O"Kane
in London,
and married her on March 29, 1930 early in the Great Depression. They started
married life in a rented flat above a grocery store and later moved to 19 Oldburg Road
in Enfield.
Over the course of the twenty four years from 1931 to 1954, the couple had
ten children. Like so many others, James had a hard time finding work. He did
anything he could find, from painting and washing down walls, to stringing
tennis rackets. Occasionally, he worked with his father who was a
cabinetmaker and french polisher. About the middle
1930's he finally found a good job with the Ministry of Supply which lasted
until he retired in 1963.
Explosives expert, decorated for bravery
About 1940 James (who by
now was an expert on explosives) was transferred to Scotland where he worked as a
foreman at the Bishopton Royal Ordnance Factory
which produced munitions for the war.
His family followed in March 1941. A short while later, three workers
fell into a pit of sulphuric acid, James heroically
climbed in and pulled them all to safety, suffering severe burns to his legs
as a result. He was cited by King
George VI for bravery above and beyond the call of duty and was awarded a
silver medal with two laurel leaves and a parchment signed by Winston
Churchill. The King’s Commendation for
bravery was published in the Supplement of March 13, 1942 to The London Gazette. After two months of recuperation in the
hospital he was back on the job and apart from this episode, he never missed
a day of work in over 30 years. Over
the years there were a number of explosions at the plant due to the extremely
dangerous nature of the T.N.T, nitroglycerine, cordite and other munitions.
On one occasion three men were blown to pieces. Volunteers were sought to
gather their remains but no-one stepped forward until James took the lead and
was followed by another colleague. The two of them spent hours looking for
the body parts and putting them in buckets. He said that this grisly task was
the worst thing he had ever had to do.
Awarded the Imperial Service Medal
His daughter Doreen
remembers the nightly blackouts as German bombers tried to hit the big
pressed steel factory and railway that were nearby. One night a bomb fell
into the garden underneath their bedroom window. James very carefully and
calmly, dug it up and put it in a small stream next to the house until it
could be dismantled. They lived in a fourplex with
three other families and a number of children, all of whom owed their safety
to her father's actions. After the
war, he worked in Atomic Energy. In the early 1960's he was sent overseas to India
where he spent about two years helping to set up an atomic energy plant for
the government. On June 7, 1966, James was awarded
the Imperial Service Medal for long and meritorious service to his country
and to the Royal Ordnance Factory (which was operated by the Ministry of
Supply). Doreen is now the proud owner of his medal and citation which he
passed on to her. She remembers her
father as a quiet and unassuming man who thought of others first. He lived a healthy life into old age, residing
with Ida at 16 Belltrees Crescent, Paisley,
and passed away on March 21, 1981 at Barrhead Hospital, Scotland. Ida lived as a widow
until she too passed away on August 4, 1992.
(Note: James’ brother Edgar Stanley Newark (born 1921) who served in
the Royal Air Force during WWII was killed in a plane crash in 1946 – click
the “Memorial” navigation key to the left for photos and a newspaper clipping
concerning him.)
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