James Henry Finn VC (1893 - 1917)

Born 24 Nov 1893 in St Clement, Truro, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Died 30 Mar 1917 at age 23 in Iraq

Problems/Questions Profile manager: A. James [send private message]

Biography

James Finn VC was born in Truro, Cornwall, England.

James Finn VC is Notable.

James Finn VC was awarded the Victoria Cross.

James Finn VC was Killed in Action during World War I.

Type: Anecdote, 2008

Finn went to South Wales looking for work. He eventually found employment at the Colliery at Cwmtillery. At the Colliery he made friends with Willie Townsend and eventually went to live with the family in Frederick street which has since been demolished. On the outbreak of War he immediately enlisted with the local Regiment, the 4th Battalion of the South Wales Borderers.

It was during action in Mesopotamia (now Iraq) that Private Finn earned the Victoria Cross for his bravery. An extract from "The London Gazette", dated, 26th Sept., 1916, records the following:

"For most conspicuous bravery. After a night attack he was one of a small party which dug-in in front of our advanced line and about 300 yards from the enemy's trenches. Seeing several wounded men lying out in front he went out and bandaged them all under heavy fire, making several journeys in order to do so. He then went back to our advanced trench for a stretcher and, being unable to get one, he himself carried on his back a badly wounded man into safety. He then returned and, aided by another man who was wounded during the act, carried in another badly wounded man. He was under continuous fire while performing this gallant work."

He was awarded the Victoria Cross as well as the Order Of Karageorge which is Serbia's equivalent to the Victoria Cross. He survived that night but was killed on 30th March 1917. His Memorial at Basra, Iraq can be found at panel numbers 16 and 62. The Basra Memorial was originally sited within Basra War Cemetery but in 1997 the Memorial was moved. It is now located 32 kilometres along the road to Nasiriyah, in the middle of what was a major battleground during the Gulf War. The Memorial consists of a roofed colonnade of white Indian stone, 80 metres long, with an obelisk 16 metres high as the central feature. The names are engraved on slate panels fixed to the wall behind the columns. More than 40,000 British, Indian and West African dead who died in the operations in Mesopotamia from the Autumn of 1914 to the end of August 1921 are commemorated on the Memorial.

In 1966, Finn was also remembered at his home town at Bodmin when an estate was named "Finn VC Estate" in his Honour. The ceremony was attended by many members of his family and members of his Regiment. The plaque commemorating the event was unveiled, and can be seen opposite the library in Bodmin. Sadly his VC medal is now kept locked away in a vault after it was donated to Bodmin Town council, and has not been shown in public for many years.

Although his body was never returned to Cornwall, he is remembered on his father's headstone in Bodmin cemetery.

Sources

• This person was created through the import of FAMILY.GED on 08 May 2011.
• "England and Wales Census, 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X7LG-22W : 30 November 2018), Albert Ernest Richard Finn in household of John Finn, Bodmin Borough, Downing S Bodmin, Cornwall, England; from "1911 England and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 14, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.Baxter-5479 17:10, 3 December 2018 (UTC)