James Cox was the son of George and Clara of Enfield, near Oamaru. He was working as a stud groom when he volunteered for the Army - perhaps he was employed in Canterbury which might be how a North Otago boy joined the Canterbury Infantry Regiment.
The Battalion was in Polygon Wood in the Paesschendaele region, in January of 1918. It rained hard for days on end at that time. When it did not rain it was cold and damp. I've not been able to find accurate information on how James died - in fact, the Official History has no record of whre his Battalion was positioned on the day of his death. It does mention that the cold conditions produced a phenomenon which sometimes occurred in the trenches - German gas from shells fired at Allied lines would sometimes pool in shellholes in the overnight cold and dissipate in the morning - with no warning to nearby soldiers from the falling of gas shells which made a distinctive sound.
James' record shows that he was "killed in action." He'd been in action for two months. He was eighteen years old.
Enfield Notes
Another of our young soldiers — Private James Hair Cox — has made the supreme sacrifice. He volunteered for active service and left for the front as soon as he could persuade the authorities to take him, and was just 20 years old in September last. He left with the 25th Reinforcements, and saw about two months' service. in France. The district, in sympathising with his parents, mourns the loss of another sterling soldier. -Oamaru Mail, 1/3/1918.
The Oamaru Mail states that James was twenty years old and his Army Record has a date of birth which makes him eighteen. I would trust the accuracy of his army Record.
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