James Firth

2023-10-12T12:48:15Z

2A00:23C5:B320:DF01:F99D:AB4F:FB9E:A2C7: /* External links */

{{short description|Recipient of the Victoria Cross}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2014}}
{{Infobox military person
|name=James Firth
|birth_date=15 January 1874
|death_date=29 May 1921 (aged 47)
|birth_place=[[Sheffield]], [[West Riding of Yorkshire]]
|death_place=Sheffield
|placeofburial=[[Burngreave]] Cemetery, Sheffield
|image= James Firth VC.jpg
|caption=
|nickname=
|allegiance= {{flagu|United Kingdom}}
|serviceyears= 1889 - 1900,
|rank=[[Sergeant]]
|branch=[[File:Flag of the British Army.svg|23px]] [[British Army]]
|commands=
|unit= [[The Duke of Wellington's (West Riding) Regiment]]
|battles=[[Second Boer War]]
|awards= [[File:UK Victoria Cross ribbon bar.svg|30px]] [[Victoria Cross]]
|laterwork=
|relations=
}}'''James Firth''' [[Victoria Cross|VC]] (15 January 1874 – 29 May 1921) was an English recipient of the [[Victoria Cross]], the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] forces.

==Early life and family==
He was born in Sheffield, son of Charles Firth, steel smelter, of Sheffield, later residing in [[Jarrow-on-Tyne]], and Elizabeth Lister also of Sheffield. He joined the Army on 29 July 1889. in June 1897 he married Florence Edwards of Swineshead, Lincolnshire (born 1876) and they had three children: Joseph Wallis Firth, born 1902 (died in 1912, after choking on a playing marble), Alleyne Gatehouse Firth, born 25 June 1903, and Cecil James Firth, born 18 December 1907.<ref name="ABW">{{cite web | url=http://www.angloboerwar.com/medals-and-awards/12-victoria-cross/187-firth-james | title=AngloBoerWar.com entry | accessdate=17 January 2013}}</ref>

==Military career==
Firth was 26 years old, and a [[sergeant]] in the 1st Battalion, [[The Duke of Wellington's (West Riding) Regiment]],<ref name="Hobbs">{{cite web | url=http://www.chrishobbs.com/jamesfirth1901.htm | title=Sergeant James Firth | accessdate=17 January 2013}}</ref> [[British Army]] during the [[Second Boer War]] when the following deed took place on 24 February 1900 near [[Arundel, Cape Colony]] for which he was awarded the VC:
{{quote|During the action at Plewman's Farm, near Arundel, Cape Colony, on the 24th February, 1900, Lance-Corporal Blackman having been wounded and lying exposed to a hot fire at a range of from four to five hundred yards, Sergeant Firth picked him up and carried him to cover. Later in the day, when the enemy had advanced to within a short distance of the firing line, Second Lieutenant Wilson being dangerously wounded and in a most exposed position Sergeant Firth carried him over the crest of the ridge, which was being held by the troops, to shelter, and was himself shot through the nose and eye whilst doing so.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27322|page=3933|date=11 June 1901}}</ref>}}

He returned to the United Kingdom in early 1901, and received the VC from [[Edward VII|King Edward VII]] during an investiture at [[Marlborough House]] 25 July 1901.<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Court Circular |date=26 July 1901 |page=3 |issue=36517}}</ref>

==Death==

He died of [[tuberculosis]] in May 1921<ref name="Hobbs" /> and is buried at [[Burngreave Cemetery]], Sheffield.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hobbs |first1=chris |title=Sergeant James Firth V.C. 1874-1921 - Sheffield |url=https://www.chrishobbs.com/jamesfirth1901.htm |access-date=4 November 2021}}</ref>

==The medal==
The medal is in the [[Lord Ashcroft Collection]].<ref name="VC.org">{{cite web | url=http://www.victoriacross.org.uk/vvashcr2.htm | title=Lord Ashcroft VC Collection | accessdate=15 January 2013}}</ref>

==References==
;Notes
{{reflist}}
;Bibliography
*''[[Monuments to Courage]]'' (David Harvey, 1999)
*''[[The Register of the Victoria Cross]]'' (This England, 1997)
*''[[Victoria Crosses of the Anglo-Boer War]]'' (Ian Uys, 2000)

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110514041055/http://www.homeusers.prestel.co.uk/stewart/yorkshir.htm Location of grave and VC medal] ''(South Yorkshire)''
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20041214222038/http://www.homeusers.prestel.co.uk/stewart/aaauctio.htm VC medal auction details]
* {{Find a Grave|11314595}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Firth, James}}
[[Category:Duke of Wellington's Regiment soldiers]]
[[Category:Second Boer War recipients of the Victoria Cross]]
[[Category:British recipients of the Victoria Cross]]
[[Category:1874 births]]
[[Category:1921 deaths]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of the Second Boer War]]
[[Category:20th-century deaths from tuberculosis]]
[[Category:British Army recipients of the Victoria Cross]]
[[Category:Tuberculosis deaths in England]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Sheffield]]
[[Category:Burials in South Yorkshire]]

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James Firth