Chief Petty Officer A chief petty officer (CPO) is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards, usually above petty officer. By country Australia "Chief Petty Officer" is the second highest non-commissioned rank in the Royal Australian Navy ...

Ernest Herbert Pitcher (31 December 1888 − 10 February 1946) (middle name also recorded as James) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

(RN) sailor and an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

(VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

forces.

Naval career

During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Pitcher served in

Q ship Q-ships, also known as Q-boats, decoy vessels, special service ships, or mystery ships, were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open fire ...

s commanded by Commander Gordon Campbell. The first was HMS ''Farnborough'' (Q.5) which sank two

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

s but was herself sunk by the second; Captain Campbell was awarded the VC after the second action. Most of the crew, including Pitcher, were rescued and followed Campbell to HMS ''Pargust''. ''Pargust'' sank the U-boat ''UC-29'' but was herself severely damaged. The Admiralty decided that ''Pargusts action was worthy of the VC but that all of the crew had acted with equal valour, so article 13 of the VC's royal warrant was applied and the ship's company voted for one commissioned officer and one petty officer or seaman to receive the award: these were ''Pargust'' first lieutenant, Ronald Stuart, and seaman William Williams. Pitcher received the Distinguished Service Medal. Campbell and the crew then transferred to HMS ''Dunraven'', in which the action took place for which Pitcher was awarded the VC. Petty Officer Pitcher was captain of the 4-inch gun crew. When the magazine below them blew up the crew were blown into the air, but Pitcher and another man landed on mock railway trucks made of wood and canvas, which cushioned their falls and saved their lives. His VC was awarded by ballot of the gun crew. Lieutenant Charles George Bonner was also awarded the VC. Pitcher also received the ''Croix de Guerre'' and the ''Médaille Militaire''.

Interbellum and later life

In 1920 Pitcher was promoted to

chief petty officer A chief petty officer (CPO) is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards, usually above petty officer. By country Australia "Chief Petty Officer" is the second highest non-commissioned rank in the Royal Australian Navy ...

. In 1927 he retired from the Royal Navy and lived in

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, where he taught woodwork in a boys' school in

Swanage Swanage () is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck and one of its two towns, approximately south of Poole and east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester. In the Unit ...

and also ran a pub, the "Royal Oak" in Herston. On the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he rejoined the Navy and served onshore in the south of England. After the war his health deteriorated and he died of tuberculosis on 10 February 1946. His body was brought back to Swanage, where he is buried in Northbrook Cemetery.Commonwealth War Graves Commission casualty details: Pitcher, Ernest James
/ref>

References

Notes

Bibliography

* *

Monuments to Courage David Charles Harvey (29 July 1946 – 4 March 2004) was a British historian and author. He is notable for his seminal work, ''Monuments To Courage'', which documents the graves of almost all recipients of the Victoria Cross, a task that took ...

(David Harvey, 1999) *

The Register of the Victoria Cross ''The Register of the Victoria Cross'' is a reference work that provides brief information on every Victoria Cross awarded until the publication date. Each entry provides a summary of the deed, along with a photograph of the recipient and the f ...

(This England, 1997) *

VCs of the First World War - The Naval VCs ''VCs of the First World War'' is a series of books that list the Victoria Cross recipients of the First World War. The series consists of 13 books written by four different authors, first published under the label Sutton Publishing Limited, par ...

(Stephen Snelling, 2002)

External links

Location of grave and VC medal
''(Dorset)'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pitcher, Ernest Herbert 1888 births 1946 deaths Military personnel from Cornwall Burials in Dorset Royal Navy sailors British World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (United Kingdom) Royal Navy recipients of the Victoria Cross Royal Navy personnel of World War I Royal Navy personnel of World War II Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in England