Michael Paul Benner, GC (14 April 1935 – 1 July 1957), known as Paul Benner, was a British Army officer 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 ...

who was 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 his actions in an alpine rescue attempt at Grossglockner, Austria.Royal Engineers Museum and Library – History Section – Sapper George Crosses (GCs) page
He was born in Blackheath, London, on 14 April 1935 and educated at

Canford School Canford School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18). Situated in 300 acres of parkland near to the market town of Wimborne Minster in Dorset, south west England, it is one of the largest sch ...

in Dorset. The award of the George Cross was published in '' The London Gazette'' on 17 June 1958.

References

British recipients of the George Cross 1935 births 1957 deaths People educated at Canford School Royal Engineers officers Mountaineering deaths People from Greenwich Sport deaths in Austria 20th-century British Army personnel {{UK-army-bio-stub