Ernest Herbert Pitcher

Ernest Herbert Pitcher VC, DSM (31 December 1888 – 10 February 1946) 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 forces.

Pitcher was 28 years old, and a petty officer in the Royal Navy during the First World War when the following deed took place for which he was awarded the VC.

On 8 August 1917 in the Bay of Biscay, Atlantic, Petty Officer Pitcher was the 4-inch gun layer on HMS Dunraven (one of the Q ships) when she was shelled by an enemy submarine. He and the rest of the crew waited while the battle went on overhead and all around them. When the magazine below them caught fire they took up cartridges and held them on their knees to prevent the heat of the deck igniting them and when the magazine finally blew up they were all blown into the air.

His VC was awarded by ballot of the gun crew, along with Lieutenant Charles George Bonner. Pitcher also served in the Second World War and achieved the rank of Chief Petty Officer.