These details may be those of the same James Law who went to Westoe Secondary School, but there is no direct evidence other than a match in the military records on a relatively common or incomplete name.

James Law's father was also James Law, a cartwright with the South Shields Corporation. His mother was Eliza.

It isn't known when James attended Westoe Secondary School, but by April 1917 he was serving on board the SS Strathcona, a Canadian-owned cargo steamer.

It was sailing from the Tyne to Marseille with a cargo of coal, via the Orkneys and Shetlands (presumably to avoid the dangers in the English Channel). It was hit and sunk a German submarine, the U-78 (Otto Droscher), about 150 miles west of the islands.

He is remembered on the Tower Hill Memorial, a memorial to those in the Merchant Navy and fishing fleets who died in the war, but who have no known grave.