James's Story.
Birkenhead News 22 September 1915
STILL MISSING.
After Three Months.
ST.ANNE STREET SOLDIER.
We publish a portrait of Private James Allen, of the 1st Liverpool Regiment, who was notified, in June last, by the War Office as missing after the engagement at Richeburg between May 16th and 19th. Since then nothing has been heard of him from official quarters, but two of his comrades have stated that he has been killed – a statement we of course mention with reserve. He lived with his aunt, Mrs. Allen, of 2, St. Anne Street, Birkenhead, and in the course of his last letter he wrote :- “The weather is very warm out here, in fact it is too warm at times, especially when there are shells bursting alongside of you, but we get used to them, and the only thing we are frightened of is our trenches going up with a bang when the Germans mine the ground. Of course we are doing the same, and it is nothing to see several trenches of dead Germans. I don’t think it will last very long now.”
Private Allen would have been 26 years of age on the 25th of this month. He originally came from Ireland as an orphan about 15 years ago, and was adopted by Mrs. Allen, his aunt. He was a very well-known figure and worked with the China Company at the docks. A member of the St. Lawrence’s R.C. Church he took and active interest in its Young Men’s Society.