Frederick John Cradock (3 July 1886 – 4 May 1943) was an English boilerman posthumously awarded the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, has been ...

for heroism in his attempts to save a workmate from boiling steam in

Glemsford Glemsford is a village in the Babergh district in Suffolk, England, near the town of Sudbury. Glemsford is located near the River Glem and the River Stour also flows nearby. Glemsford is surrounded by arable farmland and is not far from his ...

in Suffolk.

Career

A boilerman by trade, he was born around 1886 in

Acton, London Acton () is a town and area in west London, England, within the London Borough of Ealing. It is west of Charing Cross. At the 2011 census, its four wards, East Acton, Acton Central, South Acton and Southfield, had a population of 62,480, a ...

and enlisted in the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

in 1915, going on to serve in France and Belgium with the 156th Brigade during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

George Cross

On 4 May 1943, Cradock and a colleague, Albert Sterry, were working on a boiler when a valve Sterry was fixing exploded, filling the boiler house with scalding steam and boiling water. Sterry was trapped in a well between the boiler and furnace and although Cradock, who was on top of the furnace at the time, could have jumped to safety he called for a ladder and attempted to climb down to rescue his workmate. He attempted to reach Sterry before being forced back by the heat and being severely scalded. Cradock tried a second time, but despite his gallant efforts Sterry was killed and Cradock died making his rescue bid. The story was recounted in the ''Haverhill Echo'' of 5 May 1943, noting how the explosion had been caused by a piece of metal lodging in a valve which prevented it venting excess pressure.Glemsford Family History: March 2006
at www.glemsford.org.uk

George Cross citation

Notice of Cradock's George Cross award was announced in ''

The London Gazette ''The London Gazette'' is one of the official journals of record or government gazettes of the Government of the United Kingdom, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are ...

'' on 10 September 1943.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cradock, Frederick John 1886 births 1943 deaths British recipients of the George Cross Royal Artillery soldiers British Army personnel of World War I People from Acton, London Accidental deaths in England People from Babergh District