James William Scully was born in Shoreditch, London on 24th March 1891, the first of ten children of James William Scully (1962-1925) and Eliza Sophia Emery (1866-1930). He was baptised on 10th April 1891 at St. Peter Hoxton Square Church. The family home, one of six households in number 40 Aske Street, was only a few hundred yards away from the slum area of the Old Nichol, notorious as an area whose design and geography made it a criminal enclave. However, Charles Booth, a social reformer who walked the streets of London documenting the living conditions of the inhabitants at the time, recorded that Aske Street was a generally well-kept area where the occupants were employed in the city and the children were all well fed and clean.

The 1891 Census, taken on 5th April 1891, shows that James' father was working as a Pointsman, an employee on the railway and tram systems which, although not an overly prestigious position, was nonetheless vital in the rapidly expanding and advancing transport network around the capital, controlling the signals and points at junctions and maintaining the smooth flow of goods and passengers. James' mother Eliza was listed as a Charwoman, a domestic cleaner, possibly working for some of the more affluent residents in the area nearby. The other inhabitants of the street were listed variously as carpenters, cabinet makers, print workers and engineers, reflecting the level of society into which James had been born, artisans and skilled working class families.

By 1897 the family had moved to 4 Gloucester Row, and in February of that year James and his younger sister Eliza had begun their education at Hammond Square school. However, in September of the same year, he was recorded as being removed from the school.

Three years later, on the 31st March 1901 Census the family were living at 45 Norfolk Buildings, "model dwellings" built for working class families to a higher standard than many other properties in the area, though often cramped. This would have been made more difficult as the family of six were now joined by James' grandparents, his mother Eliza's parents George and Eliza Emery,

The next census, recording events of 2nd April 1911, shows by that time the family had moved to 51 Crondall Street in Hoxton. James senior was still employed as a Pointsman for London County Council, but James seems to have had no fixed employment at this time, being listed with an occupation of "Job About", taking any work available, and under the Census section for "Industry or Service  with which worker is connected" he lists "Anywhere."

On 18th September 1915, at the Register Office in Islington, James married Annie Elizabeth Day, a spinster two years younger than himself. His father was still working as a Tramway Pointsman, while James himself was listed as a Veneer Cutter, possibly in the furniture industry. Annie's father was employed as a Sewerman working for the borough council. The couple had been living together before marriage at 53 Canonbury Road in Islington.

Three months after their wedding, Annie gave birth to the couples first child, a daughter named Annie Elizabeth who was born on 19th December 1915. The new family is shown in the third photograph on this page.

James' First World War service records would appear to have been among the records destroyed by fire following an air raid in 1940, so it cannot be determined when exactly he joined up. However, details which do survive indicate that he was living in Highbury and enlisted with the Rifle Brigade and was assigned service number S/24379. He eventually moved to or was re-assigned to the 11th (County of London) Battalion, The London Regiment (Finsbury Rifles), headquartered at 17 Penton Street, near Kings Cross Station. He remained with this unit for the rest of his service.

In July 1915 the Finsbury Rifles were transferred from their training camp in Norwich to Liverpool, and boarded the RMS_Aquitania en route to Turkey. They arrived at Suvla Bay on 11th August 1915, entering the Gallipoli Campaign which had reached stalemate after several months. They remained part of the campaign until the Gallipoli operation was closed down towards the end of 1915.

The remaining troops from the campaign were transferred to Alexandria, and remained there until the beginning of 1917. At some time in early 1916 James must have been home on leave, as on 18th January 1917, the couples' second daughter, Emily Amelia, was born. 

The 11th Battalion provided support to the 162nd Brigade during the Second Battle of Gaza during a disastrous attempt to sieze Gaza on 19th April 1917. No further attempts on Gaza were attempted until the Third Battle of Gaza which began on 27th October 1917. The 54th Division, of which the 11th Battalion was a part, advanced towards Gaza on the morning of 2nd November 1917. At approximately 3:30 in the morning during  an advance along the beach about  200 yards North East of Sheikh Ijlin in Gaza the soldiers in James' unit came under heavy fire. James was probably hit by  the bullet of a sniper, and was killed. 

His grave, shown in picture 4, is in the Gaza War Cemetery