The White Feather or The Brave Coward
This is an account of my research into my great-uncle, James Henry Coward (1888-1917), who was given a white feather during WWI. Investigating this tragic story made me aware of the cruel propaganda campaign, the ‘White Feather Movement’.
I hope the readers will find it interesting. I have included photographs of James and his wife Laura.
The tragic story of James H. Coward, the older brother of my maternal grandfather, was told to me by my mother and grandmother and will stay with me forever.
When Britain declared war against Germany on 4 August 1914, James Coward was 26. In September of that year, he married Laura Sayer at All Saints Church, Tufnell Park, Islington. The married couple lived at 15 Grove Road, Upper Holloway, Islington – James gives his occupation as a ‘Gas Fitter’.
As a married man, he would not have been expected to volunteer during the early stages of the conflict. A year later, the couple had a daughter, Edith Laura Coward. Sadly, the following spring, James’s wife Laura passed away from ‘Bright’s disease’ [nephritis]. This is an old term for a disorder caused by the inflammation of blood vessels in the kidneys. She was just 29 years old.
On 25 May 1916 conscription was extended to married men.
But James was now a widow with a dependent child, so once again
