MILITARY HONOURS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24326, 17 June 1940, Page 6

MILITARY HONOURS

RESOURCE AND COURAGE (British Official Wireless) (United Press Association) (By Electric Telegraph—Copyright) RUGBY, June 15. (Received June 16, at 8 p.m.) In the list of immediate awards made by the Commander-in-Chief of the British Expeditionary Force (Viscount Gort) is the Distinguished Condgct Medal to Troop Sergeant-fliajor Revil Burroughs, of the Royal Artillery, who showed great and initiative when a gun position at Mount Bre was attacked by four Dornier 17’s flying in line-astern formation. One 3.7 gun and one Bren gun were in action. Sergeant-major Burroughs ordered his command post detachments to take cover and at the same time he joined the gun detachment and took cover behind a gun. As the first plane passed the crossing point of firing on the section, he gave the order “Action! ” to the gun detachment and, taking over the duties of No. 5, he laid the gun on the future bearing and angle. He fired the gun himself at the estimated moment. At the second burst the plane was seen to have crashed. He then engaged the second plane, which appeared to be hit and began to lose height. The other planes changed their course and flew away. Sergeant W. J. Gilchrist, of the Irish Guards, was also awarded the D.C.M. For two hours Sergeant Gilchrist with a few men held a post at a street corner in Boulogne-and with an antitank rifle and Bren guns succeeded in setting fire to an enemy tank, thereby blocking the street down which the Germans were trying to advance. Although wounded. Sergeant Gilchrist refused to leave his post until the guns jammed through over-firing. The action of this n.c.o. enabled the remainder of his battalion to move on unmolested.