James joined the 29th Battalion on 12 July 1915 at a relatively senior age of 44 and embarked from Melbourne aboard HMAT Ascanius on 10 November 1915.
A native of Stawell, he lived at Brimpaen and worked as a forest officer in the Wartook and Murra Murra state forests on the western side of the Grampians at the time of enlistment. I think the Murra Murra bush may now be known as the Black Range or Burranj Range.
Prior to 1910 he had been a farm roustabout and boundary rider in Victoria, NSW and WA.
James returned from England to Australia on 8 April 1917.
He resumed duty as a forest officer with the Forests Commission at Brimpaen before retiring in 1934 and moving to Hay in NSW to live with his sister.
He never married but was well known around the district for his welcoming hospitality.
James travelled extensively in his retirement including a visit to China. He was planning another trip to Queensland but died in Horsham hospital of pneumonia on 7 May 1944. He is buried at Brimpaen and flags on the Horsham town hall were lowered to half mast in his honour.
He is sometimes listed as “James Leas Shaw” due to an incorrect interpretation on his enlistment papers.
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/72636085
Victoria’s Forests & Bushfire Heritage 