Reginald James (‘Jimmy’) Fitch was born on 22 February 1915 in Rochford, Essex.
He had three sisters. Before the war he was registered on the London Stock Exchange as a stockbroker.
2nd Lt James Fitch at Beaulieu training camp 1939
In 1939 Fitch joined 367 Battery of the newly formed 140 Field Regiment as GPO (Gun Position Officer) of E Troop. He was involved in all the battles in 1940, including the fighting at Cassel. He was captured after the breakout from Cassel in the Poperinghe area on 31st May 1940.
Along with many of the Regiment’s officers in captivity, he was initially transferred to Stalag VII Laufen, but in March 1941 he was transferred to Stalag XXI Posen (with Michael Duncan, Ronald Baxter and Harold Westley) and from there to Oflag VB Biberach.
While in Biberach, he participated in the mass escape by tunnel on 13th September 1941, paired (‘Pair No. 9‘ of the escape plan) with Ronald Baxter. He was relatively late out of the tunnel exit, and he and Baxter became separated. Fitch sought shelter in a unlocked garden hut, unfortunately he was discovered by the owner- armed with a shotgun- and so his escape was short-lived.
He spent the remainder of the war in Oflag VIB and Oflag VIIB Eichstatt, finally being liberated from Stalag VIIA Moosburg by American forces in May 1945.
Post-war, James Fitch married Joyce Gibb in Westmister in 1950.
2nd Lt ‘Jimmy’ Fitch TD died on 12 February 1993 in Weybridge, Surrey at the age of 77 years.