GALLANTRY AWARDS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20262, 1 June 1940, Page 7

GALLANTRY AWARDS

TANK CORPS TROOPS COURAGEOUS EXPLOITS (British Official Wireless.) Reed. 9 a.m. RUGBY, <May_ 30. Some impression of the odds against which the British Expeditionary Force has been fighting and the gallantry which all ranks have displayed, may be gathered from the list of awards of two D.S.O.’s, six M.C.’s, and eight M.M.'s to officers and men of the Royal Tank Regiment and Signals published today. One officer left in command of a battalion by the death of the commander carried out a reconnaissance on foot and later, though wounded, led the tank battalion against a heavy onslaught by the enemy which he held until darkness enabled him to withdraw. Another broke out of a town invested by the enemy and was able to reach another town where re cooperated with the infantry throughout the day destroying fr..:n his own tank four medium tanks and three other armoured vehicles. The devotion and courage of the officer was equalled by that of other ranks. A staff sergeant-major got out of his tank under heavy fire and rescued his commanding officer who was wounded while directing fire in the open. A signalman remained sending out vital messages despite heavy bombing and shelling. As the official report puts it, he was “unperturbed even by the most furious onslaughts from the air and on the ground.”