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Robert Selby Armitage
Robert Selby Armitage, (28 March 1905 – 26 May 1982), sometimes known as Robert Selby, won both the George Cross and George Medal for his bomb disposal work during the Second World War, one of only eight people to have been awarded both. Early life The son of the Rev. Philip Armitage (1870–1960) and his wife Elizabeth Christina Armitage, née Marshall (c1875-1934), he was born in Birling, Kent, Birling in Kent on 28 March 1905 and educated at Rugby School and Trinity College, Cambridge. On 28 September 1938 he married Frances Bland Tucker. Second World War He defused unexploded bombs during the The Blitz, blitz in 1940, notably a mine that fell on Orpington in Kent. The mine had come to rest in a tree and he climbed a ladder to defuse it, offering no chance of escape if the fuse had been triggered. His George Cross was gazetted in the London Gazette on 27 December 1940, and he was invested on 24 May 1941 at the medal's first investiture ceremony. He was one of four recipien ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birling, Kent
Birling is a village and civil parish in the Tonbridge and Malling district of Kent, England, about seven miles west of Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c .... According to the 2001 census it had a population of 430 increasing to 437 at the 2011 Census: 224 male and 213 female. It is south-west of the nearby town of Snodland and 37 miles away from the capital. Toponymy The origin of the name 'Birling' is unclear, some sources believe that it signifies 'Bærla's family' with the 'ing' portion of the word coming from the Old English '-ingas' suffix meaning family or followers. Other sources mention Birling and other place names with similar spellings with the definition: 'place of the descendants of the cup-bearer or butler'. The Village The village of Birl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
