Brandon Moss (GC)
Encyclopedia
Brandon Moss was awarded the George Cross
for his "superhuman efforts and utter disregard for personal injury" while serving as a Special Constable with the Coventry
Constabulary.
He led two rescue attempts on houses which had been destroyed by a high explosive bomb during heavy German air raids
on the 14th of November 1940, managing to free three people trapped in the rubble in the first and another person in the second after seven hours of digging through the night. He also recovered four bodies. A fractured gas main, further air raids and a delayed action bomb no more than twenty yards from the scene added to the danger of falling masonry and structural collapse. The citation for his award was published in the London Gazette
on the 13th of December 1940, when he was presented with the George Cross by King George VI at Buckingham Palace
.
Moss married Vera Watson and had two daughters. He died, aged 90, in Coventry on August 9, 1999.
His GC is now on display at the Lord Ashcroft VC Gallery in the Imperial War Museum
, London.
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 his "superhuman efforts and utter disregard for personal injury" while serving as a Special Constable with the Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
Constabulary.
He led two rescue attempts on houses which had been destroyed by a high explosive bomb during heavy German air raids
Airstrike
An air strike is an attack on a specific objective by military aircraft during an offensive mission. Air strikes are commonly delivered from aircraft such as fighters, bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters, and others...
on the 14th of November 1940, managing to free three people trapped in the rubble in the first and another person in the second after seven hours of digging through the night. He also recovered four bodies. A fractured gas main, further air raids and a delayed action bomb no more than twenty yards from the scene added to the danger of falling masonry and structural collapse. The citation for his award was 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 13th of December 1940, when he was presented with the George Cross by King George VI at Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
.
Moss married Vera Watson and had two daughters. He died, aged 90, in Coventry on August 9, 1999.
His GC is now on display at the Lord Ashcroft VC Gallery in the Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
, London.