Robert Selby Armitage, (28 March 1905 – 26 May 1982), sometimes known as Robert Selby, won both 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 ...

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 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 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 London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

on 27 December 1940, and he was invested on 24 May 1941 at the medal's first investiture ceremony. He was one of four recipients: one civilian and one each from the Navy, Army and Air Force. Also in 1940, he commanded a small coaster at the evacuation of the British Army from Dunkirk. His George Medal, gazetted on 15 February 1944, was for mine disposal work at Corton Sands,

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

on 15 June 1942 while serving in .

Later life and family

On 26 May 1982, at his home in Nettlebed,

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, he shot his wife, wounding her slightly, and then killed himself.Henley Standard, 28 May 1982. Armitage was a nephew of Robert Armitage, great nephew of Edward Armitage and Thomas Rhodes Armitage, and third cousin of Edward Leathley Armitage.

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armitage, Robert Selby 1905 births 1982 deaths People from Birling, Kent People educated at Rugby School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Royal Navy officers British recipients of the George Cross Royal Navy recipients of the George Cross Bomb disposal personnel Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II English stockbrokers Recipients of the George Medal 20th-century English businesspeople 1982 suicides Suicides by firearm in England Military personnel from Kent