Alexander Fraser Campbell, GC (2 May 1898 – 18 October 1940), known as Sandy Campbell, was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer of the

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 conspicuous gallantry in defusing a bomb in October 1940.

Triumph Engineering Works unexploded bomb

On 14 October 1940 at Chapel Street,

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, Second Lieutenant Campbell along with Sergeant Michael Gibson and Sappers W. Gibson, R. Gilchrest, A. Plumb, R.W. Skelton and Driver E.F.G. Taylor were tasked to deal with a unexploded bomb. The sappers spent almost four days uncovering the bomb which was found to contain a very damaged delayed-action fuse mechanism which could not be removed in situ. Though any electrical charge within the fuse was thought to have dissipated, Campbell still applied a discharge tool. On 17 October 1940, Campbell, believing the bomb to be inert ordered it to be moved. It was loaded onto a lorry and taken to Whitley Common where it could be detonated safely. Campbell positioned himself next to the bomb on this journey listening for any timer mechanism that might have been activated by the bomb's removal. The bomb was remotely detonated.

Death

On 18 October 1940, Campbell and his squad were attempting to complete an identical procedure on another bomb. However, after arriving at Whitley Common, the bomb exploded during unloading, killing the entire bomb squad. Following a funeral service at

Coventry Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The curren ...

on 25 October 1940, the squad were buried in a collective grave in Coventry's

London Road Cemetery London Road Cemetery is a cemetery in Coventry, England, designed by Joseph Paxton and opened in 1847. It lies south-east of the city centre and is bisected by the West Coast main railway line between Coventry and Rugby, which pre-dates the ce ...

. The squad comprised 2nd Lt. Alexander Fraser Campbell, Sergeant Michael Gibson, Sappers William Gibson, Richard Gilchrest, Jack Plumb, Ronald William Skelton and Driver E. F. Taylor.

George Cross citation

Campbell's posthumous George Cross citation appeared 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 22 January 1941: His George Cross is on display in the

Royal Engineers Museum The Royal Engineers Museum, Library and Archive is a military engineering museum and library in Gillingham, Kent. It tells the story of the Corps of Royal Engineers and British military engineering in general. History The 'Ravelin Building', ...

Memorial

On 18 October 2006, the anniversary of the death of Campbell and his fellow soldiers, a memorial plaque was dedicated to their memory close to where they died on Whitley Common.Search on for family of WW II bomb hero
/ref> The memorial reads:

Triumph Engineering Works unexploded bomb

Death

George Cross citation

Memorial

References

Further reading