World War 1

Search the known records to date of those lost from the wider Alnwick area in World War 1

Generally showing where they are commemorated, when they died and some basic facts about each person. There are gaps, however, so if you can fill in any missing details do please contact us.

James Straker

Forename(s):
James

Surname:
Straker

Initial(s):
J

Service Number:
3870

Rank:
Private

Regiment:
Northumberland Fusiliers, 1/7th Battalion Territorial Force

Died:
06/02/1917

Aged:
20

Buried:
Wimereux Communal Cemetery (N.B. Wimereux was the headquarters of the Queen Mary's Army Auxilliary Corps. From October 1914 it was an important hospital centre & the cemetery was used to bury its dead. Unusually, because of the sandy soil, the headston

Service History:
Enlisted at Alnwick, Northumberland.

Died at No. 14 Stationary Hospital, Wimereux, presumably of wounds received or from the effects of gas poisoning.

Background:
Born in 1897, the son of James & Isabella (née Turner) Straker, both of Longhoughton. The family lived at 6, Boulmer Village at the time of Straker's death.

Came from a long line of fishermen, dating back to at least 1841. Straker's family had connections with the Stephenson's of Boulmer, another long-established fishing family in the village.

Local Memorial:
Boulmer, Memorial Hall Plaque Longhoughton, St Peter & St Paul Church Longhoughton War Memorial