Born 4 August 1863 at Kohat, India, eldest son of Lieutenant-Colonel H S James, RA; late Bengal Artillery, and his wife, a daughter of Dr Batson (Major, East India Army), who distinguished himself before Delhi during the mutiny. C H James's paternal grandfather had been commander-in-chief of Bombay Presidency, and his maternal grandfather, Dr Batson's father, had sat with Warren Hastings in the Council. He was educated at Eton House Preparatory School, Croydon, and at Cranleigh, and took his medical training at St Thomas's, where he served as house surgeon and resident accoucheur. In 1888 he was awarded the Solly medal for the excellence of his surgical reports. He then served as resident medical officer at the General Lying-in Hospital at Lambeth. He was commissioned a surgeon in the Indian Medical Service on 31 January 1891. James served as deputy Sanitary Commissioner for the Punjab 1894-1900, and received the Kaiser-i-Hind medal, first class, on 23 May 1900 for his plague work, on which he had published a series of valuable reports. He was promoted major, 31 January 1903 and lieutenant-colonel 31 January 1911. From 1903 to 1912 he was medical adviser to the State of Patiala, and was created CIE on 14 June 1912. He then became civil surgeon at Simla, 1912-16, whence he was transferred to Delhi, where he was both civil surgeon and Chief Medical Officer of the Province from 1917 till his retirement on 17 October 1921. He had been placed on the select list for promotion on 19 December 1917. After his return to England James settled in Surrey, living first at Donyngs Place, Redhill, and later at St Rowans, The Chase, Reigate. He served as county surgeon and later as assistant commissioner for the East Surrey area of the St John Ambulance Brigade. James died suddenly, of heart failure, at St Rowans on 27 October 1944, aged 81. He had never married. Publications: *A manual for vaccinators in Punjab*. 1895. *Report on plague in Bombay*. 1897. *Report on plague in Jullundur and Hoshiarpur districts.* 1899. *Plague reports, Punjab*. 1897-99.