Chief Petty Officer Ernest Pitcher VC DSM Médaille Militaire Croix de Guerre Ernest Herbert Pitcher VC, DSM (31 December 1888 – 10 February 1946)

Today, team members were the guests of the Royal Marine Association of Poole at a commemorative service in Swanage.

Chief Petty Officer Ernest Pitcher was awarded a Victoria Cross for action in the 1st World War.

Pitcher was born Dec 31 1888(9) at Mullion, Cornwall and he joined the Royal Navy at age 15. He was one of the earliest recruits for the Q-ship program spearheaded by Commander Gordon Campbell VC. The Q-ships were specially-outfitted and armed merchant ships designed to present easy targets to U-boats. When a U-boat surfaced, the Q-ship dropped the camouflage hiding its armament and opened fire. As one of a handful of regular Royal Navy men in ships largely manned by former merchant seamen and reservists Pitcher was one of Campbell’s most effective hands, being Mentioned in Despatches and awarded the Distinguished Service Medal and the Victoria Cross, all within a six-month period.
Pitcher earned his VC for action aboard the Q-Ship HMS Dunraven in the Bay of Biscay on 8 August 1917. Petty Officer Pitcher was serving as the crew chief for the Dunraven’s single four-inch gun when it was attacked by the U-boat UC-71. A shell from the U-boat’s deck gun struck the Dunraven’s poop deck where the four-inch gun was disguised by a fake hatch and phony laundry hanging out to dry. The shell set off one of the Dunraven’s concealed depth charges, and while thick smoke obscured the hidden gun crew’s view ports and fire threatened to set off powder and shells in the magazine below the poop, Pitcher and his crew maintained their stations, not wanting to give the game away. But before The Dunraven had a chance to spring its trap, another shell from the UC-71 made a direct hit on the poop deck and blew it sky-high. Despite the devastation, the gun crew survived. Pitcher cartwheeled through the air and landed near the engine-room, sustaining wounds in several places. The shell had set off The Dunraven’s alarm buzzers, and one of the remaining 12-pounder guns had gotten off a couple of shots before the U-boat submerged. Campbell could have cut his losses and headed for home, but he chose to stand and make a fight of it. Unfortunately, in the ensuing battle the Dunraven came off second-best. The UC-71 made its escape after having made a direct hit with one of its torpedoes, and the Dunraven sank 36 hours later. The award of the V.C. was made to Pitcher as a representative of the four-inch gun crew, the rest of whom received Conspicuous Gallantry Medals.
After the war Pitcher remained in the Navy, retiring in 1927 after twenty-five years service. Between the wars he worked in a boys school as a PT instructor, wood shop teacher and groundskeeper and also operated an “off-license” (package store). He re-joined the Navy for World War II, serving at a number of home islands stations. He passed away at the Royal Naval Auxiliary Hospital, Sherborne, Dorset on 10 Feb 1946.
His medals, including the French Croix de Guerre and Médaille Militaire, are now owned by Lord Ashcroft and are on display in the Imperial War Museum, London. In November 1920, Ernest Pitcher, together with a group of other VC and GC holders formed a Guard of Honour when the Unknown Warrior was interned in Westminster Abbey and also at the dedication of the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London.