[2] Sources vary, but somewhere between 1911 and 1913, when James would have been between 16 and 18 years old, the Richardsons emigrated to Canada, first settling in Vancouver and then Chilliwack, British Columbia, where his father became Chief of Police.

In a precursor of the valour he would later show on the Somme, while at work in 1914 he learned of a youth drowning in a nearby creek and proceeded to run to the scene, dive into the water and bring up the boy, who died despite Richardson's efforts.

On Oct 8, 1916, in a phase of the action known as the Battle of the Ancre Heights Richardson's battalion was pinned down by barbed wire barriers and intense enemy fire during an attack on Regina Trench.

The 20-year-old fearlessly encouraged his comrades forward by marching in front of them, playing his bagpipes in the face of the withering enemy fire, inspiring them to get up and continue their attack, which was ultimately successful.

30967, dated October 18, 1918, stated the following: For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty when, prior to attack, he obtained permission from his Commanding Officer to play his company "over the top".

[6] 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.

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.

[7] 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.

After the war, in June 1920, James Richardson's body was discovered by a farmer about 300 metres north of the northeast corner of Le Sars village and recovered for burial.

[8] He is interred at Adanac Military Cemetery (Plot III, Row F, Grave 36) which is located on the east side of the D107 Road, 1.6 kilometres north of the village of Courcelette, France.