Jim Churm, who has died at age 102, was a D-day veteran and former Royal Navy medic who subsequently pursued a lengthy career in nursing and physiotherapy.
During the second world war, Churm joined the navy at 18 and trained as a sick berth attendant before being assigned to landing craft operations. On 6 June 1944, he served as the leading medic aboard a landing craft participating in the assault on Sword Beach, one of the five main landing zones along the Normandy coast during the allied invasion of France. His duties encompassed caring for sick and injured personnel while also assisting with winches and general seamanship tasks as crew resources were limited. He made two crossings from Britain to Normandy aboard landing craft that lacked protective equipment fitted to larger naval vessels and were particularly vulnerable to enemy mines. Following a brief period in the UK, he was posted to Egypt.
After the war, Churm qualified as a nurse and specialized in orthopaedics in Birmingham before undertaking physiotherapy training in Liverpool. He subsequently worked as a chartered physiotherapist in Leicester, Blackburn, and other locations, including positions at the Queen’s Park hospital and Blackburn Royal Infirmary. He later established private practice at Our Lady of Compassion hospital and maintained private surgeries in Accrington and Blackburn. During the late 1960s, he also served as physiotherapist for two local football clubs, Blackburn Rovers and Accrington Stanley.
Born in Nottingham, Churm was the son of Arthur, an oil industry worker, and Miriam Cooper. He attended Claremont school before joining the navy despite having secured an apprenticeship in a reserved wartime occupation. In later life, he remained quietly proud of his contributions to the liberation of France and emphasized the often-overlooked role of landing craft crews. He was a dedicated supporter of remembrance activities and regularly attended Royal British Legion Scotland events.
Churm retired to Crossmichael in Kirkcudbrightshire with his wife Sheila Cahill, also a physiotherapist whom he married in 1952, where they lived for more than 30 years. He was celebrated with a surprise performance by the Royal Marines Band Scotland for his 100th birthday and received the honour of chevalier of the Légion d’honneur in 2025 from the French ambassador at the Usher Hall in Edinburgh during an 80th anniversary VE Day concert. Sheila died in 2018. Churm is survived by three sons, 10 grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
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