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‘Although it was a dark night, so many incendiaries fell that for two hours it would have been possible to read a newspaper by the light of them ... bombs were falling and the men had continually to fling themselves to the ground ... By this time so many H.Es had fallen in the surrounding streets that the roads were blocked and their car had to be partly forced and partly lifted over the debris.’
The Gas, Light & Coke Company’s Co-partners’ Magazine, July-August 1941 edition, refers to events on the night of 19 March 1941.
A fine London Blitz G.M. awarded to George Davis, a Trunks Mains Inspector for the Gas, Light & Coke Co. Ltd. whose gallant deeds were enacted amidst ‘a rain of incendiary bombs’ - and within 15 yards of an UXB - at Ilford, just to the north of London’s East End, on the night of 19 March 1941: to date the heaviest raid mounted by the Luftwaffe - with a resultant loss of ‘some 750 lives’ - the catastrophic events of the 19th were simply recalled as “The Wednesday”
George Medal, G.VI.R., 1st issue (George Davis), in its card box of issue, extremely fine £2000-3000
G.M. London Gazette 11 July 1941. The joint citation states:
‘During an air raid gas mains were fractured. Bradley and Davis, followed by Bell and Potts, drove through a rain of incendiary bombs to the spot. The ignited gas rose in a column of flame which swayed across the road, and buildings on both sides were alight. It was necessary to shut down the valves of two mains. The men travelled back to the valve on one main and shut it. In order to keep vitally important industrial areas supplied, they changed over the high pressure supply of gas. They were warned that a time bomb lay not far from the valve of the second main. The area was unsafe and all the people around had been moved out. Nevertheless the valve was successfully closed, but it was realised that unless still another valve was closed the flames could not be extinguished. This lay within fifteen yards of the time bomb. All four men fully realised the grave risk that they ran, but without hesitation, and although H.E. bombs continued to fall in the surrounding streets, they went ahead and completed the task.’
After dark on the night of Wednesday 19 March 1941, the Luftwaffe launched a massive attack on London, 479 aircraft delivering 470 tonnes of H.E. bombs and 122,000 incendiaries. The attack lasted from 2010 to 0158 hours and, in the opinion of some of the most experienced Luftwaffe crews, was the greatest yet achieved. In addition to ‘some 750’ fatalities, a further 1,100 people were seriously injured.
Sold with a copy of the Gas, Light & Coke Company’s Co-partners’ Magazine, July-August 1941 edition, which contains a feature reporting on the above described incident.
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