Pte 51567 James Daniel McElroy

His youngest brother Robert died at age 3 in 1903, by which time the family had moved across the Mersey to Cheshire.

James died of pneumonia, and was buried in the Prisoners of War Cemetery at Zerbst.  

 

In 1922-23 it was decided that the graves of Commonwealth servicemen who had died all over Germany should be brought together into four permanent cemeteries.  Berlin South-Western at Stahnsdorf, 13 miles southwest of Berlin, was one of those chosen and in 1924-25, graves were brought into the cemetery from 146 burial grounds in eastern Germany. James was one of 45 POWs who had died in the camp in 1917-18 and whose bodies were removed to Berlin.

There are now 1,176 First World War servicemen buried or commemorated in the Commonwealth plot at Berlin South-Western Cemetery. The total includes special memorials to a number of casualties buried in other cemeteries in Germany whose graves could not be found. The following cemeteries are among those from which graves were brought to Berlin South-Western Cemetery:- ALTDAMM PRISONERS OF WAR CEMETERY, 8 kilometres East of Stettin, in the Province of Pommern (Pomerania), contained the graves of 46 soldiers from the United Kingdom, three from Newfoundland and two from Canada, who died in 1915-1918. BUDEROSE PRISONERS OF WAR CEMETERY, near Guben, in the Province of Brandenburg, contained the graves of 18 soldiers from the United Kingdom, one from Canada and one from Australia, all of whom died in 1918. CROSSEN PRISONERS OF WAR CEMETERY, 3 kilometres East of Crossen, on the river Oder, in the Province of Brandenburg, contained the graves of 66 sailors and soldiers from the United Kingdom, one from Australia and one from South Africa all of whom died in 1918. DOBERITZ PRISONERS OF WAR CEMETERY, about 19 kilometres West of Berlin, in the Province of Brandenburg, contained the graves of 38 sailors and soldiers from the United Kingdom who died in 1914-1918. HASENHEIDE GARRISON CEMETERY, on the South side of the city of Berlin, contained the graves of 369 Russian, 125 French, and 58 Belgian, American, Italian, Rumanian, Portuguese or Serbian soldiers; 63 sailors, soldiers and Marines from the United Kingdom; and one Indian soldier. HEILSBERG PRISONERS OF WAR CEMETERY, in Ostpreussen (East Prussia), contained the graves of 50 soldiers and one Marine from the United Kingdom, who died in 1917 and 1918. Only twelve of which were found when the graves were being recovered; the remainder are still buried at Heilsberg. KLEIN WITTENBERG OLD CEMETERY, 3 kilometres West of Wittenberg, in the Prussian province of Saxony, contained the graves of 23 soldiers, one Marine and eight civilians from the United Kingdom and one soldier from India, all of whom died in 1915; the NEW (or PRISONERS OF WAR) CEMETERY, those of 71 soldiers and three civilians from the United Kingdom, two soldiers from Canada and one from Australia, who died in 1915, 1917 and 1918; and WITTENBERG OLD SMALL CEMETERY those of two soldiers from the United Kingdom who died in 1914 and 1915. The first and third of these cemeteries are associated with the outbreak of typhus at the Wittenberg camp in December 1914. LAMSDORF PRISONERS OF WAR CEMETERY, in Schlesien (Silesia), contained the graves of 81 soldiers from the United Kingdom, one from Australia and one from New Zealand, who died in 1917-1919 (it was used for French burials in 1870-71). MAGDEBURG MILITARY CEMETERY, in Prussian Saxony, contained the graves of 24 soldiers and one Marine from the United Kingdom who died in 1915-1918. MERSEBURG TOWN CEMETERY, in Prussian Saxony, contained the graves of 12 soldiers from the United Kingdom who died in 1914-1917, and the PRISONERS OF WAR CEMETERY those of 33 soldiers from the United Kingdom who died in 1917-1918. OPPELN TOWN CEMETERY, in Upper Silesia, contained the graves of 41 soldiers from the United Kingdom who died in 1921-22. They belonged to the British force stationed in Upper Silesia during the Plebiscite. Thirty of them, who died after the legal termination of the war, were left buried at Oppeln. SCHNEIDEMUHL PRISONERS OF WAR CEMETERY, in Posen, West Prussia, on the borders of Poland, contained the graves of 76 soldiers from the United Kingdom, five from Australia, three of the Royal Guernsey Light Infantry, and one from Canada, who died in 1915-1918. Eighteen of the graves could not be recovered. STARGARD PRISONERS OF WAR CEMETERY, in Pomerania, contained the graves of 37 soldiers and one Marine from the United Kingdom, two soldiers from New Zealand and one of the Royal Guernsey Light Infantry, who died in 1917-1918. STENDAL PRISONERS OF WAR CEMETERY, in Prussian Saxony, contained the graves of 140 soldiers from the United Kingdom, two from Canada and one from Newfoundland, who died in 1917-1918. ZERBST (HEIDETOR) CEMETERY, in Anhalt, contained the graves of two soldiers from the United Kingdom who died in 1914-1915, and the PRISONERS OF WAR CEMETERY those of 45, who died in 1917-1918.  

 

Although his CWGC headstone gives his age as 23, he would have been 22 (i.e., in his 23rd year).  When his mother provided information to the CWGC she was living at 62 Milton Road, Birkenhead.

James’ Army effects and the War Gratuity of £18 went to his mother.  The pension cards show that his mother was awarded a pension of 5/6d a week from July 1919.  The cards give multiple addresses, including 19 Newling Street, Birkenhead;  62 Milton Road, Birkenhead;  Massey Park, Liscard, off Seaview Road;  and 26 Alexander Road, Llandudno, North Wales.

 

In 1939 his mother, 79, is living with her widowed daughter in law (her son Marcus had died in 1937), and two children, at 21 Merecroft Road, Wallasey.

 

His mother died at the age of 80 in 1941.

 

Sadly, James has not been found on any memorials.

 

We currently have no further information on James Daniel McElroy. If you have or know someone who may be able to add to the history of this soldier, please contact us.

Grateful thanks are extended to Kevin Shannon the author of the book The Liverpool Rifles for providing details of James' service with the 6th Rifles.