| “I feel that I am part and parcel of Godmanchester.” The small town of Godmanchester lies on the River Ouse in East Anglia, just 19 miles North West of Cambridge. Boasting over 2000 years of unbroken human habitation, Godmanchester was granted the Royal Charter by King John in 1212 and received another royal visitor in the shape of King James I of England in 1603. A stroll through its streets will reward the visitor with over 400 years worth of architectural history. Parts of Godmanchester today are pretty much as they were when William Alfred James was born, the last of seven children, to William and Emma James on New Year's Eve, 1891. Having been a grinder and a wine merchant's servant, William Alfred's father is noted as being a labourer at the time of his birth; a common profession in the mainly rural Ouse Valley. He was christened at the local church, St Mary's, by the incumbent vicar, Henry Hart Chamberlain and attended the Queen Elizabeth School in the town until he was just 11. As the James family were resident in the town at the time of the Royal Charter, William Alfred was born a freeman of the borough. This hereditary position, only granted as long as the recipient stays in the town, affords the freeman various grazing rights and a revenue from the rental of common land. |
| Above, William Alfred James can be seen, fourth from the left, in the back row of the line up for the Godmanchester Football Club, 1912-13. Having lied about his age to gain entry, William joined the Grenadier Guards in 1908. As a member of the King's Company in 1910, he was one of those who stood guard as Edward VII lay in state in the throne room at Buckingham Palace and at the funeral in Windsor. |
| HOME EARLY YEARS THE GREAT WAR THE MAYORAL CHAIN AFTER OFFICE LINKS |
| Godmanchester's name comes from Anglo-Saxon Godmundceaster, meaning a "town or Roman buildings associated with a man called Godmund". Between Godmanchester, Huntingdon and Brampton lies England's largest meadow, Portholme. |
| This website tells the story of my Grandfather, William Alfred James, of Godmanchester, 1891 - 1966 |
| William Alfred James - A Godmanchester Man |