Google AI generated Private with Kings Royal Rifle Company circa 1915 arriving in WWI France
Second Lieutenant James Albert Edgar was a highly decorated British Army officer of the First World War. Serving originally as an enlisted rifleman with the Kings Royal Rifle Company, he distinguished himself through exceptional battlefield bravery, winning the Military Medal (MM) and a subsequent Bar for gallantry prior to rising out of the ranks to receive an officer’s commission.
James Albert Edgar was born on December 19, 1891, in York, Yorkshire, England. He grew up in a large working-class industrial family; his parents (our 2nd great grandparents), John Thomas EDGAR, an engine wright, and Ann LUMSDON, raised twelve children, eight of whom survived into adulthood.
By the turn of the century, the family resided at 3 Rosary Terrace, off Holgate Road, in York. Upon leaving school, James followed his family into the railway industry. The 1911 Census1 records the 19-year-old James living at home and working as a painter at the North Eastern Railway (N.E.R.) Carriage and Wagon Shops alongside his older brother Robert, who was employed as a carriage fitter.
On May 26, 1915, as the pressures of the First World War intensified, 23-year-old James married 21-year-old Minnie Precious at St. Olave Parish Church2 on Marygate, York. At the time of their wedding, James was working as a painter and living with his family, while Minnie worked as a confectionary maker at one of three cocoa works in York.
Enlistment and Frontline Deployment
Driven by wartime mobilization, Edgar enlisted in the British Army and was assigned to the King’s Royal Rifle Corps4 (KRRC), a premier rifle regiment, under the Regimental Service Number R/14003. He was posted to the 9th (Service) Battalion,5 KRRC, which formed part of the 42nd Brigade within the 14th (Light) Division. Following his training, Private Edgar was deployed to the Western Front in France, arriving on December 30, 1915, where he immediately entered the grueling environment of trench warfare.
Throughout 1916, Private James Albert Edgar served continuously on the Western Front with the 9th (Service) Battalion, enduring brutal trench warfare before being thrust into the horrors of the Battle of the Somme. The first half of the year was spent rotating through active frontline trenches, support lines, and rest camps in the Arras and Ypres sectors.
This grueling phase was defined by daily artillery bombardments, sniper fire, and hazardous night patrols in No Man’s Land to repair barbed wire. In August, Edgar’s battalion was moved south to participate in the bloodiest phases of the Somme Offensive. On August 24, they launched a devastating evening assault to clear the eastern boundary of Delville Wood, suffering 289 casualties in just 24 hours as riflemen fought close-quarters grenade battles under heavy shellfire.
Weeks later, on September 15, Edgar fought in the Battle of Flers-Courcelette near Gueudecourt7, advancing across open fields behind the very first tanks used in military history. Surviving this intense year of attrition solidified Edgar’s status as a resilient veteran, setting the stage for his subsequent promotion and awards for gallantry.
Acts of Gallantry: The Military Medal (MM)
Edgar’s exceptional courage under fire soon marked him for advancement and recognition. While serving as a Private on the Western Front, he performed an act of bravery that earned him the Military Medal (MM). This award was officially published in the London Gazette on July 18, 1917.
Because individual citations for the Military Medal were almost never published in the London Gazette, the exact specific act that earned Private Edgar his first award must be deduced by mapping the standard two-to-three-month administrative delay against his July 18, 1917 publication date. This timeline firmly anchors his heroic deed to the spring of 1917, specifically during the Battle of Arras (First and Third Battles of the Scarpe), where the 9th KRRC was heavily engaged in breaching fortified German trench networks. While his specific action file has not survived, Military Medals given to Privates during these intense infantry assaults were universally awarded for exceptional battlefield feats, such as taking command of a section when leaders became casualties, running vital messages through heavy artillery barrages, or single-handedly clearing enemy machine-gun nests with hand grenades.
Continued Valor: The Bar to the Military Medal
Promoted to Corporal for his leadership capabilities, Edgar continued to demonstrate remarkable bravery in the field. He achieved the rare distinction of winning a second gallantry award. The Bar to his Military Medal9 was awarded for exceptional bravery and tactical leadership during a bloody infantry assault against Polderhoek Chateau in late October 1917, a heavily fortified German strongpoint bristling with concrete pillboxes during the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele).
As the 9th KRRC advanced through deep mud under devastating machine-gun and artillery fire, many officers quickly became casualties, forcing Corporal Edgar to take immediate tactical command of his section to neutralize enemy positions. His conspicuous gallantry in this chaotic engagement was recognized on November 6, 1917, when the battalion war diary proudly recorded that their fierce efforts had netted one Military Cross and seven Military Medals.
Out of those seven veteran recipients, Edgar achieved the rare distinction of being one of only three men awarded the Second Award Clasp (Bar) rather than a standard first medal—an immediate field honor was officially gazetted three months later in the London Gazette11 on February 23, 1918, which listed his details as “R/14003 Pte. (Cpl.) J. A. Edgar, M.M., K.R.R.C. (Marygate)”.
Commission to Officer Rank
In recognition of his combat experience, leadership, and heroism, Edgar was selected for an officer’s commission12. On July 30, 1918, he was discharged from the ranks to become a temporary Second Lieutenant13. He was commissioned into the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry14 and subsequently attached to the Royal Berkshire Regiment,15 serving out the remainder of the war in an officer leadership role on the Western Front.
Following demobilization, James returned to civilian life in York with his wife Minnie. He utilized his trade skills to transition from industrial rail painting to commercial artistry as a Signwriter.
James Albert Edgar, MM and Bar, passed away in June 196019 at the age of 68 in York, leaving behind a remarkable legacy as an enlistee, who fought his way through the trenches to become a decorated officer, surviving to return home to his wife. Minnie survived him by more than a decade, passing away in York in December 1973.
Our grand great uncle, James, was the youngest surviving sibling of our great grandmother, Adelaide EDGAR. Eight of twelve siblings reached adulthood but only James Albert Edgar enlisted to serve his country during the First World War.
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Julian, that was a stunning piece of work and a fabulous and very interesting read. More so for me as Donald Edgar Bainbridge was my father. I am christened Peter Edgar Bainbridge. So now I know where the Edgar bit originated from. I have past this on to my eldest brother David, who's middle name is John. David is the oldest and we lost our middle brother Malcom Donald sadly a couple of years ago.
However, really great work, and very well done.