In a ceremony full of music and emotion, the bravery of a young B.C. soldier who died on a First World War battlefield was remembered in Victoria on Wednesday.

Pte. James Richardson of Chilliwack was a 20-year-old piper with the 16th Battalion (Canadian Scottish) of the Canadian Expeditionary Force in France.

British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell makes a presentation during Wednesday's ceremony in Victoria.
(CBC)

He received the Victoria Cross, the British Commonwealth's highest military honour, for rallying the troops with his pipes on Oct. 8, 1916 during the bloody Battle of the Somme.

His company had gone "over the top" and had run into barbed wire and heavy machine gun fire.

Premier Gordon Campbell read from Richardson's Victoria Cross citation as he received the pipes during a special ceremony on the steps of the B.C. Legislature on Wednesday.

James Richardson is the only bagpiper in Canadian military history to be awarded the Victoria Cross.
(CBC)

"Piper Richardson strode up and down outside the wire, playing his pipes with the greatest coolness.The effect was instantaneous. Inspired by his splendid example, the company rushed the wire, the obstacle was overcome and the position captured."

Later that same day, Richardson put down his pipes to carry a wounded soldier back to the trenches. When Richardson went back to get the pipes, he disappeared into the battle and was never seen again.

Pipes taken to Scotland

The pipes were found by a military chaplain who took them back to Scotland, where they went on display at a private school in the town of Crieff.

There, the broken, mud-encrusted pipes remained for 75 years until they were identified based on their tartan.

After years of negotiation, the Canadian Club of Vancouver purchased the bagpipes to donate them to the province.

Last month, Solicitor General John Les and Environment Minister Barry Penner, the two MLAs for the Chilliwack area, went to Scotland with Patrick Reid of the Canadian Club to get the historic pipes.

The bagpipes may eventually end up at the museum in Chilliwack, Richardson's hometown, where his valour is already commemorated with a statue of the 20-year-old hero holding the pipes he died trying to recover.