James McPhie

He held the broken bridge afloat and led repairs under fire.

James McPhie was born in Edinburgh on 18 December 1894 and became an apprentice upholsterer. He joined the Territorial Royal Engineers in 1912. At the beginning of the First World War he served on the Forth defences before his unit was reorganised for overseas employment. He reached Egypt in January 1916 and France that April.

Serving with the 416th Field Company, Royal Engineers, he took part in the fighting on the Somme and in later operations at Arras, Passchendaele and Cambrai. By October 1918 he was a corporal supporting the British advance across the canal country of northern France.

On 14 October near Aubencheul-au-Bac, an infantry patrol crossed the Sensee Canal on a temporary cork bridge. The bridge broke under concentrated fire, leaving men isolated on the far bank. McPhie and other engineers entered the water and held sections together so that the patrol could return. He then swam back to obtain materials and led men out again to repair the crossing. Although repeatedly exposed, he continued until he was hit and mortally wounded.

His conduct preserved contact with the troops across the canal and gave others a route out of immediate danger. The posthumous Victoria Cross recognised his leadership and willingness to return to the broken bridge after helping the first men escape.

McPhie was twenty-three when he died. He was eventually buried in Naves Communal Cemetery Extension, near Cambrai. His mother received the Victoria Cross from King George V at Buckingham Palace on 3 April 1919. His family subsequently placed his medals with the Imperial War Museum, ensuring that his Territorial service and the events at the Sensee Canal were represented in its collections.