James
Pitts VC grave (26th February 1877 to 18th February 1955)
Many years
ago the former MP Jack Straw heard the grave of James Pitts in Blackburn
Cemetery was neglected. He said, “I will talk to the council about how we can
put this right.” Good stuff. I went to have a look at the glossy black
headstone. It's still rather neglected.
James was
born two miles away from his grave, the oldest of 16 children. He left school
at 13 to work in the local mill. One night he was walking home when he stopped
to listen to an army recruiting sergeant giving a speech about joining the
army. He was so disillusioned with the long hours at the mill that he enlisted
aged 18.
By 22 he was
fighting in Africa in the Second Boer War (where Great Britain defeated two
Boer nations in Africa.) The Boers had surrounded a place called Ladysmith.
They attacked at approximately 3am on 6th January 1900 knowing
British backup was many days away. The Boers stormed in and stabbed or shot
most of James’s comrades before his eyes. Only James and one soldier- Robert
Scott - remained alive and they were held up in a sangar
(a small structure used to observe the enemy.) Here they remained for 15 hours
under heavy gunfire without food or water, expecting to die any minute. Robert
took a bullet in the chest and lay bleeding on the floor. Neither man would
surrender and resolved to defend their position to the death, Robert lying on
the floor passing bullets up to James. Finally the Devonshire Regiment arrived
as night began to fall and they survived.
Six months
passed before James’s bravery reached Blackburn and he later received the
Victoria Cross from Lord Kitchener in June 1900. After the Boer War he worked
as a general labourer in a foundry. The near-death experience in Africa didn’t
scare him though as he enlisted in the army again when the First World War
started. After the war he returned to Blackburn and got a job with the council
working in the Highways Department (a job he held for 34 years.) When he died
aged 77 he was buried here where I’m stood with full military honours, a three
volley salute, and a bugler who sounded the Last Post and Reveille. It was an
honour to visit his grave.
Though
Blackburn cemetery is fairly large I headed to the Catholic Section (I knew
James’s parents were Catholics) with a grainy photo of the headstone. No red
wreath or new flowers to draw my eye but I found it anyway. I’d read about the
two brave man in bed the night before the visit. As I stood by the grave I
wondered he ever stayed in touch with Robert Scott. Neither must have ever
forgot that fifteen hours they remained fighting, all the time expecting to die
young. Peter lived another six years, dying at 86 and is buried in Northern
Ireland.
I took some
of photos of the grave. Nearby a woman walking a German Shepherd dog stopped to
bend and tie her boot laces. The dog watched as I did a few salutes then leave.
The sangar
occupied by James and Robert Scott was 15 hours looked something like this…
You just have to salute…
The main entrance to Blackburn Cemetery…
