James, A.L. Mne.

Personal Information

Aubrey James trained as a signaller with the Royal Marines and served with 47 RM Commando. On Walcheren he landed at Flushing attached to No.4 Commando. He was then involved in various raids on the surrounding islands where, as signalman, he would wait for hours on the beach for the raiding parties to return. After Holland he went to the Far East, some of the trip being extremely rough. As a good sailor, Aubrey was one of the few who enjoyed the bad weather in that he was always the first in the queue for food.

After the war, to the disappointment of parents and teachers, he turned down a place at Aberdeen University to study forestry. It seems that after serving, he couldn't face being a full time student. However, he did undertake forestry training, becoming a Forester, Head Forester and ultimately a Chief Forester. After retiring from the Forestry Commission he became a lecturer at Otley Agricultural College on arboriculture where he was highly regarded and also wrote one of the first training manuals for chain saws.