The British War Medal awarded to Lieutenant J. F. Hitchon, 11th (Accrington Pals) Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment, who was killed in action on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, 1 July 1916

British War Medal 1914-20 (Lieut. J. F. Hitchon.) minor edge bruise, very fine £240-£280

James Foldys Hitchon, a native of Burnley, Lancashire, was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the East Lancashire Regiment on 26 January 1915 and served attached to the 11th (Accrington Pals) Battalion during the Great War on the Western Front from 5 June 1916. He was killed in action on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, 1 July 1916, on which date the Battalion ‘was assembled from Mark Copse to Matthew Copse for an attack towards Serre. From the moment the advance commenced, great numbers fell from the enemy’s machine gun and rifle fire; once company, identified from the air by special markings on their backs, managed to get through German lines and into the village, but were never seen again. Eventually withdrawing to Louvencourt, the battalion suffered total casualties of 584 all ranks.’ (British Battalions on the Somme, by Ray Westlake refers). Hitchon is buried in Queens Cemetery, Puisieux, France.