James Clelland Richardson was born in Bellshill, Scotland on 25 November 1895, the son of police officer David and mill worker Mary. 

His father’s work caused James to travel around the west coast of Scotland during his youth. He was educated at Bellshill Academy, Auchinraith Public School in Blantyre, and John Street School in Glasgow.

James joined the Rutherglen Boy Scouts in his youth. He also took up the bagpipes and won several awards for his playing. 

Between 1911 and 1913, the Richardsons emigrated to Canada. James would have been aged between 16 and 18 years old.

The family first moved to Vancouver, but later settled in Chilliwack, British Columbia where David Richardson became Chief of Police.

James took on an electrician apprenticeship at a factory in False Creek, Vancouver. 

In one incident, James went to the aid of a drowning boy while at work in 1914. Upon being informed of a struggling youth in a nearby creek, James is reported to have ran directly there, dived in, and dragged the boy out. 

Despite his best efforts, the youth sadly passed away, but this event foreshadowed the incredible bravery James would show on the battlefields of the Somme during his military service.

In April 1915, the Canadians were involved in the Second Battle of Ypres in Flanders, Belgium. The Second Battle of Ypres is notable for being the first time gas was deployed on the Western Front.

The gas attacks caused a gap in the Allied lines as the ill-prepared Moroccan colonial troops of the French 45th Division retreated in the wake of this new weapon. The 1st Canadian Division was hastily pulled into the line to stem the German advance.

On 22 April, the 16th Battalion, alongside the 10th, was ordered to counterattack through an oak wood known as Lord Kitchener’s Wood. 

During the nighttime attack, James and 50 or so men were digging in after advancing some 30 metres. Rather than continuing to strengthen his position, James continued his advance and soon came across a farmhouse occupied by German troops and officers.

After being spotted by a German officer, James shot the man before retreating to report his findings to his Sergeant Major. James’ report was then used to target artillery onto the farmhouse. 

Come October 1916 the 1st Canadian Division is involved in the bloody fighting on the Somme.

During the Battle of Ancre Heights, the Canadians were tasked with securing a German trench network known as Regina Trench.

The Canadian infantry found itself pinned down by unrelenting machine gun and artillery fire. A tangled nest of barbed wire barricades was also restricting the Canadian advance.

James had brought his pipes with him to the frontline. Striking up a martial tune, Private Clelland got up and began to advance, all the while playing his pipes, heedless of the intense fire aimed in his direction.
His battalion, inspired, followed the brave piper into No Man’s Land, ultimately successfully bringing the attack home.

For this incredible act of bravery and lack of regard for his own safety, James was awarded the Victoria Cross: the British Empire’s highest medal for gallantry.

The October 18, 1918 edition of the London Gazette gives the following details:

“For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty when, prior to attack, he obtained permission from his Commanding Officer to play his company "over the top".

“As the Company approached the objective, it was held up by very strong wire and came under intense fire, which caused heavy casualties and demoralised the formation for the moment. Realising the situation, Piper Richardson strode up and down outside the wire, playing his pipes with the greatest coolness. The effect was instantaneous. 

“Inspired by his splendid example, the company rushed the wire with such fury and determination that the obstacle was overcome and the position captured.

“Later, after participating in bombing operations, he was detailed to take back a wounded comrade and prisoners.”

Sadly, James’ VC was awarded posthumously. 

After advancing some 200 or so yards, James, in the heat of the attack, must have put down his pipes and continued fighting. Realising he had left his pipes on or near the frontline, James, despite being advised not to, went forward to retrieve them.

Private James Clelland Richardson was never seen alive again. His body recovered, James is buried alongside his comrades at Adanac Military Cemetery.

But what of James’ pipes? For nearly a century, they remained a mystery, but it was revealed in the early 2000s that the pipes, with their distinctive Lennox tartan, were being kept at Ardvreck Preparatory School in Crieff, Perthshire, Scotland.

A British Army Chaplain, Major Edward Yeld Bate, had found the pipes in 1917 and brought them back home after the war to a school in Scotland where he was a teacher. 

The pipes remained there until they were repatriated with the Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary’s) and placed in the British Columbia Legislature as a reminder of one generation’s valour and the enormous cost of the First World War.