James was a student at St Thomas's Hospital, London, where he took the conjoint qualifications in 1908. He held appointments at Wandsworth Infirmary, at Brebtford Infirmary; at the Royal Hospital, Portsmouth; and at the Brentford Infirmary, and was for some years ship surgeon on the Royal Mail Line. When war was declared he was senior assistant at the Wandsworth Infirmary, and resigned to take up a commission in the R.A.M.C. After varied work he went to the Dardanelles. James was in medical command of H.M.H.S. “Salta”, when the ship was mined in the Channel. He went down with the ship but was picked up by a rescuing vessel, which was itself sunk soon after. He was the only son of James and Julia Gyllencreutz, of "Chelmer," 19, Lion Gate Gardens, Richmond, Surrey.