James Steuart Skinner

In memoriam

Major James Steuart Skinner, 2nd Battalion the King's Shropshire Light Infantry. He was the son of Edward Frederick Skinner and Bessie Skinner (nee White). Educated at Bedford School, Bedford, Bedfordshire. Gentleman Cadet at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. Commissioned into the King's Shropshire Light Infantry as a 2nd Lieutenant on 16 Aug 1905. Promoted to Lieutenant on 1 Sep 1907, to Captain on 31 Dec 1914 and to Acting Major on 26 Nov 1916. He joined the 1st Battalion on commissioning in Pembroke Dock, Wales, serving in Bordon, Hampshire (1907-08) before transferring to the 2nd Battalion in Fyzabad, Bengal, India in 1908/09. He served in Dinapore (1910-11) and Secunderabad (1912-14). When WW1 started, the 2nd Battalion were mobilised in Secunderabad, India and returned to England, landing at Plymouth in Nov 1914 and came under the command of 80th Brigade, 27th Division. They landed at Le Havre on 21 Dec 1914. They were deployed to Flanders and were in the trenches in the Dickebusch sector and later at St Eloi south of Ypres. They fought in the 2nd Battle of Ypres (22 Apr–25 May 1915). Between Jun and Oct 1915 the Battalion moved first to the Armentieres sector and then onto the Froissy sector. On 16 Oct 1915 the battalion left France and was deployed to Salonika arriving on 4 Dec 1915. They remained in Salonika for the rest of the war. Major Skinner was a Staff Captain Mar-Nov 1916 and Acting Major on the staff Nov 1916-Feb 1917. On 21 Feb 1917 he was on board the SS Princess Alberta, a British steamer, when it struck a mine laid by a German U-boat while en route from Styros Island to Mudros, resulting in the ship sinking in Mudros Bay with the loss of 33 lives. Major Skinner's body was never recovered and was presumed to have drowned. He is commemorated on the Mikra Memorial, Kalamaria, Regional unit of Thessaloniki, Central Macedonia, Greece. He is also commemorated on the Bedford School WW1 memorial in the Bedford School Memorial Hall, Burnaby Road, Bedford, Bedfordshire (see: https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/99443); on the Bedford School Roll of Honour (see: https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/100184); on a memorial board in Bedford School Chapel, Burnaby Road, Bedford, Bedfordshire (see: https://www.iwm.org.uk/memorials/item/memorial/7724); on the WW1 Roll of Honour in St Martin's Church, Clapham Road, Bedford, Bedfordshire (see: https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/290588/) and on the King's Shropshire Light Infantry WW1 Memorial in the Royal Memorial Chapel, RMA Sandhurst, Camberley, Surrey Heath Borough, Surrey, England. His father died on 4 Dec 1889 in Columbo, Ceylon (Sri Lanka). He is commemorated on a memorial plaque in St Andrew's Church, Silchar, Cacham, Assam, India.

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