Albert Matthew Osborne
Encyclopedia
Leading Aircraftman Albert Matthew Osborne of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
was awarded the George Cross
for the "unsurpassed courage and devotion to duty" he showed during incessent German attacks on Malta
. Among his many acts of valour he made safe torpedoes in burning aircraft, rescued a pilot from a burning plane and worked to rescue trapped airmen amid heavy enemy bombing. He was killed on the 2nd of April 1942 by an explosion while fire fighting in a similarly courageous manner.
His citation, published in the London Gazette
on the 10th of July 1942, concluded "This airman's fearless courage and great leadership on all occasions have been beyond praise. The Air Officer Commanding, Royal Air Force Mediterranean, has stated that he was " one of the bravest airmen it has been my privilege to meet."
He was born on the 19 October 1906 in Grimsby and enlisted in the RAF in July 1940.
Osborne is buried at the Malta (Capuccini) Naval Cemetery.
Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve
The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve consists of a number of groupings of individual military reservists for the management and operation of the Royal Air Force's Air Training Corps and CCF Air Cadet formations, Volunteer Gliding Squadrons , Air Experience Flights, and also to form the...
was awarded the George Cross
George Cross
The George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...
for the "unsurpassed courage and devotion to duty" he showed during incessent German attacks on Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
. Among his many acts of valour he made safe torpedoes in burning aircraft, rescued a pilot from a burning plane and worked to rescue trapped airmen amid heavy enemy bombing. He was killed on the 2nd of April 1942 by an explosion while fire fighting in a similarly courageous manner.
His citation, published in the London Gazette
London Gazette
The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
on the 10th of July 1942, concluded "This airman's fearless courage and great leadership on all occasions have been beyond praise. The Air Officer Commanding, Royal Air Force Mediterranean, has stated that he was " one of the bravest airmen it has been my privilege to meet."
He was born on the 19 October 1906 in Grimsby and enlisted in the RAF in July 1940.
Osborne is buried at the Malta (Capuccini) Naval Cemetery.