James was born at Forest Reefs near Orange on June 27, 1887, the 16th of 18 children to James and Ann Harding.

For personal reasons James went to Melbourne and enlisted on September 18, 1914, aged 28 years and three months.

His medical examination recorded him as having a medium coloured complexion, blue eyes and dark brown hair. He weighed in at 144 pounds, stood 5 feet 8 inches tall, and although his chest expansion was only 1 inches he was pronounced fit.

At the time of his enlistment James was married to Eva May (nee Portlock) who lived in Dubbo with the couples' four children: Eunica, Gladys, Hilton and Edwin.

Just 15 months before enlisting James had been running a grocery business in the Sydney suburb of Auburn.

James first arrived in Dubbo with his parents during his younger boyhood years and attended Dubbo District School, the same school he then sent his children too.

On leaving school he worked in Macquarie Street as a carrier in G. J. Brown's store, now part of Myers.

He was passionate about cycling and held executive positions in the local motor and cycle club.

He assisted in writing the rules and regulations for bicycle racing and was part of the working bees to improve the disgraceful state of the sports ground.

Members of the motor and cycle club brought the bike track up to racing standard while the cricketers worked on their area.

Once enlisted James was part of a group that embarked from Melbourne aboard the troopship Ulysses on December 22, 1914, and headed for Egypt. They travelled at 26km per hour.

James quickly rose through the ranks and was a corporal when the dawn landing took place on Gallipoli on April 25.

He spent the day on a vessel off Gaba Tepe, taking aboard the wounded and limbless young Anzacs.

At midnight, under the bombardment of fire, the battalion started to go ashore.

On April 27, James was at Quinn's Post where he was only separated from the enemy trenches by about 15 metres and much less in some places.

Communications were almost completely cut and runners were sniped at while trying to get messages through to headquarters.

Any attempt to move forward was met with a volley of rifle and shrapnel fire.

James was hit by a bullet and buried at the foot of Quinn's Post on the Galliopli Peninsula.

The Defence Department gave Rev. L. D. Thomas, the rector of Holy Trinity, the sombre task to notify James' family of his death on May 25, thus making Eva the "first Dubbo lady widowed through the war".

Only two days previously James' four beautiful children had sent him letters wishing him "many happy returns" for his approaching birthday.

Several weeks latter Eva received an official letter notifying her that he had been killed four weeks prior to the date previously given.

Dubbo rallied to support James' family by holding many fund-raising events; the most popular being movie and benefit nights held at the Empire and Monarch Theatre.

In the confusion of war his grave was lost and he is commemorated on the Lone Pine Memorial.