b. ? 1874 Wardley, Durham. d. 22/01/1958 Whitehaven, Cumberland.
DATE OF EM ACTION: 11/05/1910 Wellington Colliery, Whitehaven, Cumberland.
James was the son of Hannah Wren, and had four brothers. He was born in Wardley, Durham in 1874. Following his father’s death, in order to support the family, all of the Wren brothers began work in the mines in Whitehaven, Cumberland. James eventually became a rope splicer. In 1894, he married Fanny Sewell in Whitehaven, and they would have a daughter and a son. Following the award of the Edward Medal, he continued as a rope splicer. Little else is known about his life, except that he remained in Whitehaven. He died on 22nd January 1958 aged 83, and was buried in Whitehaven Cemetery.
EM CITATION:
On the 11th May, 1910, a terrible fire occurred in the Wellington Pit, Whitehaven, at a point about 4,500 yards from the shafts. Various rescue parties, with great courage and self-devotion and at considerable risk, descended the mine and endeavoured to extinguish the fire and penetrate to the persons in the workings beyond the same. Thorne and Littlewood, fitted with breathing apparatus, reached within a distance of 150 yards of the fire, but were driven back by the great heat and effusion of gases. The others got to within about 300 yards of the fire, working in the smoke backing from the fire. It was found impossible to penetrate to the scene of the fire or to rescue any of the entombed miners. Had an explosion occurred — a by no means unlikely eventuality, seeing that the mine is a very gassy one — they would undoubtedly all have been killed. Special gallantry was shown by John Henry Thorne, to whom the Edward Medal of the First Class has already been awarded, and by James Littlewood.
BURIAL LOCATION: WHITEHAVEN CEMETERY, WHITEHAVEN, CUMBERLAND.
WARD 5 SECTION J GRAVE 14.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: UNKNOWN.
