James Crichton VC (15 July 1879 – 25 September 1961) was a soldier in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award of the British Commonwealth for gallantry "in the face of the enemy", during the First World War. Crichton was born in Ireland and served in the New Zealand forces but grew up in the hamlet of Northrigg by Blackridge, West Lothian, Scotland.
Crichton was born in Carrickfergus in County Antrim, naturalised as a New Zealander and joined the 2nd Battalion, Auckland Infantry Regiment, New Zealand Expeditionary Force during the First World War. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his deeds on 30 September 1918 at Crèvecœur, France:
Private Crichton, although wounded in the foot, stayed with the advancing troops despite difficult canal and river obstacles. When his platoon was forced back by a counterattack he succeeded in carrying a message which involved swimming a river and crossing an area swept by machine-gun fire. Subsequently he rejoined his platoon and later undertook on his own initiative to save a bridge which had been mined. Under close fire he managed to remove the charges, returning with the fuses and detonators.
Crichton later achieved the rank of sergeant. He died at Takapuna, New Zealand, on 25 September 1961.
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