James Riley is believed to have joined the Chorley Pals in May 1916 – some six weeks before the attack at Serre. He served with another Battalion of the East Lancashire Regiment as Private 3678, going abroad on the 8th October 1915.
Born in Chorley in 1883, James Riley lived at 17 Gilbert Street as a Boarder in the Toy household – the 1911 listed his occupation as Bricksetter’s Labourer.