War Memorial
Among the names on the Leigh War Memorial is that of James William Bourner, a son of the village who never came home from the First World War.
James William was born in Leigh in 1888, the fourth son of James and Charlotte Bourner, whose home was at Forge Square. The family can be traced through the census returns of the period. In 1891 they were recorded at The Cottage, next to Kennards Farm, the entry appearing under reference RG12/675, Folio 190, Page 11, HSN 77. James W Bourner, then aged 36 and working as a domestic gardener, was head of the household; he had been born in Tonbridge, while his wife Charlotte, aged 39, came from Wye in Kent. Their children at that date were John, aged 10, Ernest, 8, Louisa, 6, Sarah, 5, Robert, 4, young James, 2, and baby Mary, then six months old, all the older children being scholars.
A decade later the family was living at Coachmans House, The Cottage, recorded under reference RG13/750, page 6, HSN 40 — although the census enumerator wrote the surname as BOWRNER. James W was now 46 and Charlotte 48. Ernest, 18, was employed as a domestic groom, Robert, 14, as a farm labourer, while James was 12, Mary 10, Charles 9 and little Frank 4. Between the two censuses the household shows six sons and three daughters in all.
When war came, James William enlisted at Tonbridge, joining the 59th Battery of the Royal Field Artillery as Acting Bombardier, service number 47596. He was killed in action on 15 April 1917, aged 29, and lies buried at Cabaret-Rouge British Cemetery at Souchez in the Pas de Calais, France.
His was not the family's only loss: his brothers Charles and Frank Bourner were also killed in the war, meaning three Bourner sons never returned to Leigh.