Born Haslingden, Lancashire, England, 13th January 1894. Son of Abraham Spencer (1845-1917) and Hannah Wing Spencer (1840-1932), of 32, Verulam Street, Liverpool (Army Medal address). His father was Vicar of St James Parish Church, Accrington. He had three brothers, Edmund, George and William Spencer and three sisters. They were all high achievers. His eldest brother, Edmund was a Banker. His sister Mary was a Pianist and Professor of Music, his sister Margaret was an Elementary School Teacher.
In 1909 James Hilary Spencer entered the King’s School Worcester where he was successful at a number of activities. In 1913, he received the Oxford University Squire Scholarship for Divinity, and attended for a year. In August 1914 he volunteered and obtained a commission in his county regiment, the Lancashire Fusiliers. In 1915, he took part in the landing at Suvla Bay in Gallipoli and was partially maimed. After spending several months in the hospital, he returned home to duty, as Instructor at Hull.
He achieved the rank of Captain in 1917 and was sent to the front in France on 14/12/1917. He was reported missing and wounded on April 12, 1918. Shot in the knee an taken prisoner during the Battle of Vieux Berquin. He died at at, Limburg-Weilburg, Hessen, Germany, on 16/07/1918, aged 24. Buried at Lille Southern Cemetery, France. He left £220 in his will to his widowed mother, Hannah.
The ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) notification card lists Miss M. B. Paulsen of Hull as his fiancée. This was Marguerite Beaulah Paulsen (1892-1964), of 4, Eldon Grove, Beverley Road, Hull (1911 Census address). She was a Dancing Mistress and never married.
James Hilary Spencer is commemorated on the Roll of Honour at St Mary’s Church, Lowgate, Hull. He is also named on the following Memorials: – Tenbury St Michael’s Church WW1 Memorial; Worcester Cathedral Cloister Windows Kings School; and the Worcester King’s School WW1 Memorial
His brother George Simpson was a Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Reserve. In February 1918, George was on a ship in the Irish Sea when it was torpedoed. He and the captain and about half the men on the ship were rescued. Two months later, on April 23, 1918, George was the navigating officer on HMS Iris and was mortally wounded, during the raid on Zeebrugge. In spite of his wounds (shattered right leg), he was able to provide instructions so the ship could return to Dover. He died in the Naval Hospital, Gillingham, Kent, later that same day, aged 31.
His brother, Edmund Spencer (June 19, 1876 – January 4, 1936) was the eldest of seven siblings, and held the rank of Gunner with the Royal Field Artillery. In 1918, he was captured by the Germans and held in the Giessen POW camp in Germany. He was released from military service in 1922. He died in 1936. He was a recognized chess player and his games are still cited today. Following his death, the Northern Counties Chess Union (NCCU) instituted the Edmund Spencer Trophy to commemorate his success in chess games and tournaments and his work for the Union as treasurer and secretary.
Another brother, William “Bill” Spencer (May 25, 1884 – July 12, 1949) – The second oldest brother, he did not serve in the military, but worked in munitions for the Kynoch Company, Birmingham.
