IFRONT IN BRITAIN

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIII, Issue 56, 7 March 1942, Page 8

IFRONT IN BRITAIN

HOW THEY CARRY ON .

EXAMPLES OF GREAT HEART

The following are a few examples culled from awards'to civilians to indicate the magnificent courage and spirit of the people of the Homeland in defiance of bombs:— Four Liverpool firemen who strove, in spite of falling bombs, to save a burning ship alongside Merseyside docks received awards for their bravery. The ship eventually blew, up, killing many people, but the men worked on throughout the night. For their part in this incident flection Officer John Lappin received the George , Medal and Section Officer Noel Landau an,d Auxiliary Firemen Henry Hodge and James Roach British Empire Medals. ! The citation says:— "Enemy action caused a serious fire at a dock in which a ship containing a quantitiy of explosive was berthed. The ship and large sheds alongside were burning furiously, and bombs continued to fall all around. With full knowledge of the tremendous risk involved, an A.F.S. crew, under : the leadership of Section Officer -Lappin, fought the shed fires in a gallant. but\ vain effort to reach and save the blazing ship. The ship eventually exploded, causing many deaths, but the section officer rallied the men under his comand and, although on the verge of collapse from fatigue, he continued to hold the situation. Lappin displayed a fine example of courage and devotion to duty and led His men without any regard for his own safety. Section Officer Landau, who showed bravery and unyielding devotion to duty, courageously obeyed all commands in the most nerve-testing circumstances. Although he knew there would be a second explosion. Landau stayed on and attended to the removal of the dead and injured, personally rescuing many of the wounded and organising their removal to hospital in improvised ambulances. Hodge, who turned out although he should have been resting, showed great devotion to duty, and his courage inspired his colleagues to continue with their dangerous task. Reach was several times thrown over by blast from bombs, but he continued at his post throughout the night, working indefatigably until when the explosion occurred he was injured by blast aud flying wreckage." TEAM WORK RESCUES. The award of the British Empire Medal to William Broadbent, of the Manchester Civil Defence Rescue Service, and six commendations of members of that service, were the results of a fine bit of team work. The story! of the incident for which Bjoadbenti received his medal is told in the offi-' cial announcement. Eight people outi of ten were rescued alive after three tunnels had been made while enemy planes were still active overhead. The! six men commended were working in1 a party under Broadbent's leadership,' The official citation was: "A high-! explosive hemb completely demolished' two houses, and ten people' were1 trapped in a small space between the! upper and lower floors which had sand-' wiched together. A rescue party, led! by Broadbent, began tunnelling in; three different directions. Two people' were rescued from one tunnel and four from another. The third tunnel proved extremely difficult to drive, as obstructions were constantly encountered. Eventually these were overcome and the remaining casualties were released. The rescuers were in constant danger of further settling of the ruins, which would have blocked the tunnels, and from coal gas that was escaping from fractured mains nearby. The success of the operation was largely due to the courageous leadership of Broad- , bent." GASWORKS EMPLOYEES. The George Medal was awarded to John Samuel Mercer, pressuremam. Liverpool Gas Company, and the] British Empire Medal to James Ed-j mund Hayes, leader of the- works fire brigade, for the following: "During an air raid a large gasholder received a direct hit through' the crown, which was almost complete-! ly stripped off, and the gas immediate-ly-caught fire. Mercer, who was about: 35 yards away, received a severe shock. With utter disregard for Ijis owni safety and' in the face of terrific heat .from the flames, he forced his way into the valve-house, only 15 feet from the blazing holder. With great presence of mind, he closed and opened valves, thus isolating ' the damaged holder. By directing jets of water on the fire and beating the flames down, Hayes prevented the flames setting fire to plant nearby. The courage and promptitude with which Mercer and Hayes deait with the situation saved rauch valuable property from destruction." WOMEN OF LONDON. Here is another—a woman—Mrs. Nellie. Mason, a London fire force section officer, awarded the British Empire Medal: * "Section Officer Mason has been pre- .- sent at her post, even reporting for duty when on leave, on practically every occasion when enemy attack has necessitated action at her station. On three occasions when high-explosive bombs exploded within a few yards of the watchroom, Mrs. Mason set an example of cool courage to the women,-. auxiliaries under her, and as a result the control-room continued to function with all possible efficiency." Still another—again a woman, British' Empire Medal—Miss Sheila Rosemary Bentley, London Fire Force: "Company Officer Bentley has been on duty during nearly all the air attacks on London and has at all times displayed great efficiency and devotion to duty. On one occasion when a fire station was almost entirely demolished by a bomb she was on duty in the control-room in the basement. The normal exit was blocked, but an j emergency exit proved to be clear. After the company officer* had assured herself that none of -the women auxiliaries was injured she led them, notwithstanding heavy enemy activity, a distance of about a quarter of a mile to a secondary control station, and in a very short time the service was being fully operated." William Tully, member, Civil, Defence Rescue Service, Bootle: "People were trapped in the cellars of two houses demolished by high-ex-plosive bombs. Although the "remaining portions of the buildings were liable to collapse, Tully wormed his way through a small hole and reached three persons, whom he extricated.. He then tunnelled a way to an adjoining cellar where other people were trapped. After over ten hours' work he succeeded in recovering all the casualties. During this time he suffered from the effects of coal gas."