James Pitts (VC)
James Pitts | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 26 February 1877 Blackburn, Lancashire |
| Died | 18 February 1955 (aged 77) Blackburn |
| Buried | Blackburn Cemetery, Blackburn |
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
| Service |  British Army |
| Rank | Corporal |
| Unit | The Manchester Regiment |
| Battles / wars | Second Boer War |
| Awards |  Victoria CrossMeritorious Service Medal |
James Pitts VC MSM (26 February 1877 – 18 February 1955) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Details
[edit]Pitts was 22 years old, and a private in the 1st Battalion, The Manchester Regiment, British Army during the Second Boer War when the following deed in Natal took place for which he and Private Robert Scott were awarded the VC:
During the attack on Caesar's Camp, in Natal, on the 6th January, 1900, these two men occupied a sangar, on the left of which all our men had been shot down and their positions occupied by Boers, and held their post for fifteen hours without food or water, all the time under an extremely heavy fire, keeping up their fire and a smart look-out though the Boers occupied some sangars on their immediate left rear. Private Scott was wounded.[1]
He later achieved the rank of corporal and served in World War I[2] He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in 1918.[3]
The Medal
[edit]
His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Museum of the Manchesters, Ashton-under-Lyne, England.
In 2019, a plaque in his honour was unveiled at Blackburn town hall.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ "No. 27338". The London Gazette. 26 July 1901. p. 4949.
- ^ "James Pitts VC". Cotton Town - Blackburn with Darwen. Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
- ^ "No. 30750". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 July 1901. p. 7162.
- ^ Athey, Neil (1 June 2019). "War hero commemorated with town hall plaque". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- The Four Blackburn VC's (HL Kirby and RR Walsh)
- Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
- The Register of the Victoria Cross (This England, 1997)
- Victoria Crosses of the Anglo-Boer War (Ian Uys, 2000)
External links
[edit]- Location of grave and VC medal (Lancashire)
- James Pitts at Find a Grave
- Second Boer War recipients of the Victoria Cross
- British recipients of the Victoria Cross
- Manchester Regiment soldiers
- People from Blackburn
- 1877 births
- 1955 deaths
- British Army personnel of the Second Boer War
- British Army personnel of World War I
- British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross
- Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United Kingdom)
- Burials in Lancashire
- Military personnel from Lancashire