a Scottish immigrant and Black Watch veteran from Dundee. He continued to work there loyally for 30 years. James lived with his wife and family in the Hall's penthouse, raising their children there, and retired in 1943. During their upbringing in the Town Hall, their only playing space was a small asphalt yard where the children went "pigeon-nesting" on the roof.

In his obituary in 1946, The Argus reported that James