James Hutchinson (VC)

He led a trench raid covering his comrades as they withdrew.

James Hutchinson was born at Radcliffe, Lancashire, on 9 July 1895. He worked in a cotton mill and belonged to the Church Lads' Brigade before enlisting in the Lancashire Fusiliers in September 1914. He reached France in May 1915 and served with the 2/5th Battalion.

On 28 June 1916 near Ficheux, Hutchinson led part of a raiding party into the German trenches. He dealt with sentries, helped clear the traverses and continued forward despite the danger of close fighting in the confined position. When the party withdrew, he remained to cover the movement and assist wounded men. The action earned the Victoria Cross. His brother Frank, serving in the same raid, was killed. Two other brothers also lost their lives during the war.

An eye injury during the Somme fighting subsequently ended Hutchinson's front-line service. King George V presented his Victoria Cross at Buckingham Palace on 2 December 1916. He worked as a bombing instructor and later served in the Labour Corps before his discharge in December 1918.

He married Laura Fogg in 1919, and they had a son. Civilian life included a fish-and-chip business in Bury. When the premises caught fire, Hutchinson rescued his young son from the building. The family moved to Devon, where he ran a wet-fish business and later a hotel in Torquay.

He volunteered for the Home Guard in 1940, although his damaged eyesight again restricted his service. After leaving the hotel trade he worked on a pig farm near Newton Abbot. He remained part of the community of surviving Victoria Cross recipients and received the 1937 and 1953 Coronation Medals. His wife died in 1971, and he died at Torquay in January 1972. He was cremated there, with his ashes placed in the garden of remembrance.