James Henry Finn was born in St Clement, Truro, Cornwall to parents Frederick and Mary Finn on 24 November 1893. 

The Finns were a large family, with James having five brothers and five sisters.

James had served in the British Army before the First World War. He had joined the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry in the Anglo-Boer War in the early 1900s. 

Returning from overseas service, James moved to South Wales in search of work. He was employed at the Cwmtillery Colliery near Abertillery. He befriended fellow collier Willie Townsend and eventually stayed with his family in their home in Abertillery.

James was part of the Special Reserve at the outbreak of the First World War. 

When war was declared, he enlisted immediately with the South Wales Borderers and was posted to the 4th (Service) Battalion.

On his enlistment documents, James’ surname was recorded as Fynn which is reflected in Commonwealth War Graves’ records.

With the 4th South Wales, James fought in the ill-fated Gallipoli Campaign. Wounded in the knee and chest, he was invalidated back to the United Kingdom. 

The battalion was transferred to Mesopotamia following the retreat from Gallipoli and James re-joined them there. At this time, he was acting orderly for the 4th South Wales’ commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel G.E. Kitchen.

On 9 April 1916, at Sanna-i-Yat, in present-day Iraq, the 22-year-old Private Finn performed the deeds that saw him posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, the British Empire’s highest award for military valour.

The 29 September 1916 Edition of the London Gazette gives the following details:

“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.”

Private Fynn received his medal from Lieutenant General Frederick Stanley Maude at a ceremony at Amara on 5 November 1916.

Sadly, James would not survive the war.

James was wounded in the leg on 29 March 1917, some 50 miles north of Baghdad. He was taken by stretcher to a field ambulance the following day, but he was struck and killed by another bullet in the side during transportation.

James’ grave was seemingly lost post-war so he is today commemorated alongside more than 40,000 other servicemen on the Basra Memorial.