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George Medal
The George Medal (GM), instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI,''British Gallantry Medals'' (Abbott and Tamplin), p. 138 is a decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, awarded for gallantry, typically by civilians, or in circumstances where military honours are not appropriate. History In 1940, at the height of the Blitz, there was a strong desire to reward many acts of civilian courage. Existing awards open to civilians were not considered suitable to meet the new situation, so the George Cross and the George Medal were instituted to recognise civilian gallantry in the face of enemy bombing, and brave deeds more generally. Announcing the new awards, the King said The warrant for the GM (along with that of the GC), dated 24 January 1941, was published in ''The London Gazette'' on 31 January 1941. Criteria The medal is granted in recognition of "acts of great bravery". The original warrant for the George Medal did not explicitly permit it to be awarded pos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Medal Obverse
George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States * George H. W. Bush, 41st President of the United States * George V, King of Great Britain, Ireland, the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 1910-1936 * George VI, King of Great Britain, Ireland, the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 1936-1952 * Prince George of Wales * George Papagheorghe also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Giorgio Moroder * George Harrison, an English musician and singer-songwriter Places South Africa * George, Western Cape ** George Airport United States * George, Iowa * George, Missouri * George, Washington * George County, Mississippi * George Air Force Base, a former U.S. Air Force base located in California Characters * George (Peppa Pig), a 2-year-old pig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saint George And The Dragon
In a legend, Saint Georgea soldier venerated in Christianitydefeats a dragon. The story goes that the dragon originally extorted tribute from villagers. When they ran out of livestock and trinkets for the dragon, they started giving up a human tribute once a year. This was acceptable to the villagers until a princess was chosen as the next offering. The saint thereupon rescues the princess chosen as the next offering. The narrative was first set in Cappadocia in the earliest sources of the 11th and 12th centuries, but transferred to Libya in the 13th-century ''Golden Legend''.St. George and the Dragon: Introduction in: E. Gordon Whatley, Anne B. Thompson, Robert K. Upchurch (eds.), ''Saints' Lives in Middle Spanish Collections'' (2004). The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Samuel Sewell
George Samuel Sewell, (26 September 1897 – 5 April 1969) was one of the first recipients of the George Medal (GM) and was the first civilian to be awarded a Bar to the GM. Early life Sewell was born on 26 September 1897 in Sunderland, England, and during the First World War joined the Durham Light Infantry. However, as he was underage when he enlisted, he was discharged and instead trained as a marine engineer. After a period in the Merchant Navy, Sewell joined Shell-Mex & BP, and by the outbreak of the Second World War worked at the Shell-Mex plant at Saltend, east of Hull on the Humber Estuary. As well as his engineering duties, he also managed the works fire brigade. First award of the George Medal On the afternoon of 1 July 1940, a lone German bomber attacked the oil refinery, dropping a number of high-explosive bombs. Bomb fragments punctured one of the petrol storage tanks and ignited the petroleum gas inside. Along with the plant managers and a number of firemen, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Bromwich
West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country, in terms of geography, culture and dialect. West Bromwich had a population of 77,997 in the 2011 Census. Initially a rural village, West Bromwich's growth corresponded with that of the Industrial Revolution, owing to the area's natural richness in ironstone and coal, as well as its proximity to canals and railway branches. It led to the town becoming a centre for coal mining, brick making, the iron industry and metal trades such as nails, springs and guns. The town's primary economy developed into engineering, manufacturing and the Automotive industry in the United Kingdom, automotive industry through the early 20th century. During the World War II, Second World War, West Bromwich experienced Birmingham Blitz, bombing from the Luftwaffe, German Luftwaffe. It als ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ARP Service
Air Raid Precautions (ARP) refers to a number of organisations and guidelines in the United Kingdom dedicated to the protection of civilians from the danger of air raids. Government consideration for air raid precautions increased in the 1920s and 30s, with the Raid Wardens' Service set up in 1937 to report on bombing incidents. Every local council was responsible for organising ARP wardens, messengers, ambulance drivers, rescue parties, and liaison with police and fire brigades. From 1 September 1939, ARP wardens enforced the " blackout". Heavy curtains and shutters were required on all private residences, commercial premises, and factories to prevent light escaping and so making them a possible marker for enemy bombers to locate their targets. With increased enemy bombing during the Blitz, the ARP services were central in reporting and dealing with bombing incidents. They managed the air raid sirens and ensured people were directed to shelters. Women were involved in ARP servic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charity Anne Bick
Charity Anne Bick (19 December 1924 – 22 April 2002) was a British civilian dispatch rider during the Second World War, and the youngest ever recipient of the George Medal, the United Kingdom's second-highest award for civilian bravery. She later served in the Women's Royal Air Force. Biography Charity Anne Bick was born on 19 December 1924 and educated at Lyng Primary School in Horton Street, Lyng, West Bromwich. At the age of 14, while living in Maud Road, West Bromwich she lied about her age, claiming to be 16, to join the Air Raid Precautions (ARP) service in that town. She volunteered at the office of a brick works near her home, delivering messages between ARP depots, by bicycle. Her father was an ARP post warden. During a 1940 air raid on West Bromwich, she helped her father to put out an incendiary bomb that had lodged in the roof of a shop. When the roof gave way, she fell through and suffered minor injuries. Nonetheless, she then used a borrowed bicycle and made ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snowsquall
A snowsquall, or snow squall, is a sudden moderately heavy snowfall with blowing snow and strong, gusty surface winds. It is often referred to as a whiteout and is similar to a blizzard but is localized in time or in location and snow accumulations may or may not be significant. Types There are two primary types of snowsqualls: lake effect and frontal. Lake-effect snow When arctic air moves over large expanses of warmer open waters in winter, convective clouds develop which cause heavy snow showers due to the large amount of moisture available. This occurs southwest of extratropical cyclones, with the curved cyclonic wind flow bringing cold air across the relatively warm Great Lakes which then leads to narrow lake-effect snow bands that can produce significant localized snowfall. Whiteout conditions will affect narrow corridors from shores to inland areas aligned along the prevailing wind direction. This will be enhanced when the moving air mass is uplifted by higher eleva ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gale Force
The Beaufort scale is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full name is the Beaufort wind force scale. History The scale was devised in 1805 by the Irish hydrographer Francis Beaufort (later Rear Admiral), a Royal Navy officer, while serving on . The scale that carries Beaufort's name had a long and complex evolution from the previous work of others (including Daniel Defoe the century before) to when Beaufort was Hydrographer of the Navy in the 1830s, when it was adopted officially and first used during the voyage of HMS ''Beagle'' under Captain Robert FitzRoy, who was later to set up the first Meteorological Office (Met Office) in Britain giving regular weather forecasts. In the 18th century, naval officers made regular weather observations, but there was no standard scale and so they could be very subjective – one man's "stiff breeze" might be another's "soft breeze". Beaufort succeeded in standardising the sc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spurn Point
Spurn is a narrow sand tidal island located off the tip of the coast of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England that reaches into the North Sea and forms the north bank of the mouth of the Humber Estuary. It was a spit with a semi-permanent connection to the mainland, but a storm in 2013 made the road down to the end of Spurn impassable to vehicles at high tide. The island is over long, almost half the width of the estuary at that point, and as little as wide in places. The southernmost tip is known as Spurn Head or Spurn Point and is the home to an RNLI lifeboat station and two disused lighthouses. It forms part of the civil parish of Easington. Spurn Head covers above high water and of foreshore. It has been owned since 1960 by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust and is a designated national nature reserve, heritage coast and is part of the Humber Flats, Marshes and Coast Special Protection Area. History Spurn Head was known to classical authors, such as Ptolemy as ''Oce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
