Documents relating to James Edward Dennett

Sergeant James Edward Dennett, 2nd Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers, reported by a comrade to have been killed in action in France.

He also fought in the Boer War.

Private J. Anderson, of the same battalion, wrote to Sergeant Dennett's mother:

We knew before we went in the trenches that night that we were going into a very hot corner, and Sergt. Dennett gave me a piece of brown paper with your address on it.

He said,

Now, Jack, if anything happens to me, just write a note and let my mother know, or if anything happens to you I will do the same for you

The postcards you got were posted the night we went in the trenches.

The way he got killed was, we were watching a party of Germans come up on our left and were trying to take our trench. We kept them back all the day (Wednesday). We lost about 20 men doing that, which made our company look small.

Well we kept at till about 3 o'clock on Thursday morning, when the guns stopped for a bit so Sergt. Dennett, thinking he was doing a good thing by taking advantage of the quietness, asked me to go and fetch his water bottle as he was thirsty.

I had not gone ten yards when the guns started dropping shells like rain amongst us.

When I got back to the place where I left him, all the front part of the trench was blown in and your son nowhere to be seen, so I shouted to one of our chaps had he seen Sergt. Dennett, so he showed me where he was. He was blown clean out of the trench and killed outright, so you see he saved my life with sending me for his water bottle

 

The death of Sergeant James Edward Dennett, 2nd Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers, officially confirmed.

"He saw considerable service in the South African War"