Hutchings was killed in action on 3 September 1916 at Ginchy in northern France during the Battle of Guillemont as part of the Battle of the Somme. He was hit by an artillery shell and, according to "Wisden", killed instantly. At the time of his death he was described as the most famous cricketer to have died in the Great War, with the "Daily Telegraph" writing that "one of the greatest cricketers has been taken from us". His body was never recovered and his name appears on the Thiepval Memorial.