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AIR RAIDS Fact Sheet: Bravery in the Blitz |
- Throughout the Blitz, ordinary people showed extraordinary bravery in horrendous conditions. Members of the Civil Defence services put their lives at risk night after night to rescue and help people caught up in the bombing. Here are just four examples of the bravery of members of St. John Ambulance and the British Red Cross.
- The night of 14th November 1940 saw one of the most destructive air raids in Coventry. While carrying out their work, 2 St. John Ambulance men were killed and a Cadet seriously injured: "Calls then started to come in and our vehicles were out continuously. The men carried on under the most trying conditions during the most severe bombardment with high explosives, falling anti-aircraft shrapnel and incendiary bombs.I make special mention of those who rescued victims, including people from underground shelters who had been trapped when the exits were blocked with flaming debris and falling masonry. Some of our men went into the building in a state of collapse and rescued people, but it was all in a night’s work!"
- Betty Quinn, a St. John Ambulance Cadet, was awarded the George Medal in 1940 for her bravery on the same night in Coventry. She was giving First Aid at an ARP post when a shower of incendiary bombs fell in the district: "Without waiting for assistance she ran outside. AA batteries were putting up a heavy barrage and shrapnel was falling all round. Bombs began to fall and a man was injured by one. Miss Quinn assisted him to a private shelter. A report came in of an Anderson shelter receiving a direct hit and although bombs were still falling, Miss Quinn ran there and commenced digging in the crater with a spade. She assisted to dig out seven persons who had been trapped and then attended to their injuries. She stayed until all had been removed by ambulance, although shells were bursting overhead most of the time. She then returned to the Post and carried on with her duties."
- Albert White, a British Red Cross Civil Defence worker from Hampshire, was awarded the George Medal: "After the explosion of a time bomb two persons were trapped under debris and White and two other members of the First Aid Party (also awarded the George medal) immediately set to work to reach them. In a very confined space they cut through thick brick walls, their only tools being a hammer and two axes. Despite the fact that bombs were dropping nearby and that there was another unexploded time-bomb within thirty feet, they worked for three hours until the casualties were reached."
- Jessie Walker, a British Red Cross worker also from Hampshire, was awarded the British Empire Medal: "While a First Aid Party were rendering assistance to air raid victims, a bomb fell nearby, and most of the party were killed or severely injured. Miss Walker, although suffering from shock and the effects of blast, remained at her post and began rescue work. She was joined by…two men [who] entered badly damaged property and brought out injured people, and these were attended to by Miss Walker. A gas main caught fire and conditions were extremely dangerous, but Miss Walker and the two constables continued working and many casualties were rescued and given first aid treatment. "
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