Michael Floud Blaney,
GC (14 November 1910 – 13 December 1940), known as Max Blaney, was posthumously awarded the
George Cross for defusing enemy bombs during
the Blitz
The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'.
The Germa ...
in 1940.
Second World War
Blaney, a member of the
Corps of Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...
, dismantled several bombs on 18 September, 20 October and 13 December 1940. During the last incident he was killed, aged 30, when the bomb he was defusing exploded in
Manor Park,
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
.
George Cross citation
Notice of Blaney's George Cross appeared in the ''
London Gazette'' on 15 April 1941:
London Gazette 15 April 1941
/ref>
In December 2013 an Ulster History Circle blue plaque was unveiled in his memory in Newry.
Footnotes
Further reading
*
External links
Details of Blaney's heroic act which won him the posthumous George Cross
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blaney, Michael Floud
1910 births
1940 deaths
Deaths by airstrike during World War II
British recipients of the George Cross
British Army personnel killed in World War II
Royal Engineers officers
People from Newry
Bomb disposal personnel
Military personnel from Newry