James Cleland Richardson James ( Jimmy ) Cleland Richardson VC ( 25 November 1895 – 8 / 9 October 1916 ) was a Canadian 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 . Ricahrdson was born in Bellshill , Scotland and a resident of Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada and then Chilliwack , BC . He was a Piper in the 72nd Seaforth Highlanders of Canada and he proceeded overseas as part of the large Seaforth contingent of the 16th ( Canadian Scottish ) Battalion , Canadian Expeditionary Force , during the First World War when the following deed took place when was 20 years old for which he was awarded the VC . During the Battle of the Ancre Heights on 8 October 1916 at Regina Trench , Somme , France , the company was held up by very strong wire and came under intense fire . Piper Richardson , who had obtained permission to play the company ' over the top ' strode up and down outside the wire playing his pipes , which so inspired the company that the wire was rushed and the position captured . Later the piper was detailed to take back a wounded comrade and some prisoners , but after proceeding some distance he insisted on turning back to recover his pipes which he had left behind . He was never seen again . Richardson ' s remains were found in 1920 and he is buried at Adanac Military Cemetery , located 6 miles north - east of Albert , France ( plot III , row F , grave 36 ) . Richardson ' s Bagpipes . Richardson ' s bagpipes were believed to have been lost in the mud of the Somme for almost 90 years until 2002 , when the Pipe Major of The Canadian Scottish Regiment ( Princess Mary ' s ) responded to an Internet posting . He discovered that Ardvreck preparatory school in Scotland had possession of a set of bagpipes with the unique Lennox tartan on them , the same tartan used by the pipers of the 16th ( Canadian Scottish ) Battalion . A British Army Chaplain , Major Edward Yeld Bate , had found the pipes in 1917 and brought them back home after the war to a school in Scotland where he was a teacher . The pipes were unidentified for several decades , and served as a broken , mud - caked , and blood - stained reminder of an unknown piper from the Great War . Andrew Winstanley of The Canadian Club and Pipe Major Roger McGuire were largely responsible for the investigative work into identifying Richardson ' s pipes . With the support of The Canadian Club and a group of patriotic citizens , Pipe Major McGuire travelled to Scotland in January 2003 to help identify the pipes that had been displayed at Ardvreck School in Crieff , Perthshire , Scotland , for over seven decades . Tomas Christie , a parent of students there and also a piper , initiated the search for the origin of the pipes . Their collective effort led to conclusive evidence that identified the pipes as those played by Piper Richardson on that fateful day in 1916 . An anonymous donor facilitated the purchase of the pipes on behalf of the citizens of Canada . In October 2006 , a party of dignitaries visited Scotland and received the pipes from the Headmaster of Ardvreck School for repatriation to Canada . On 8 November 2006 , the bagpipes were officially repatriated when troops from The Canadian Scottish Regiment ( Princess Mary ' s ) placed them at the British Columbia Legislature as a reminder of a generation ' s valour . They are currently on public display . There is a statue of him on display at the museum in Chilliwack , BC .