George Cameron Wylie
Encyclopedia
Sapper George Cameron Wylie GC
(25 December 1908 – 1 February 1987) of the Royal Engineers
was awarded the George Cross
for the heroism he displayed on 12 September 1940 when a 2000 kilograms (4,409.2 lb) bomb fell near St Paul's Cathedral
in Deans Yard. It took three days to dig the bomb out of soft soil, work made even more dangerous by a fire at a fractured gas main. Wylie and his team placed the recovered bomb on a lorry, which was driven to Hackney Marshes
, where the bomb was detonated, leaving a crater 100 feet (30.5 m) wide.
The citation from a supplement to the London Gazette
of September 27, 1940 (dated September 30, 1940) reads:
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...
(25 December 1908 – 1 February 1987) of the Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
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 heroism he displayed on 12 September 1940 when a 2000 kilograms (4,409.2 lb) bomb fell near St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother...
in Deans Yard. It took three days to dig the bomb out of soft soil, work made even more dangerous by a fire at a fractured gas main. Wylie and his team placed the recovered bomb on a lorry, which was driven to Hackney Marshes
Hackney Marshes
Hackney Marshes is an area of grassland on the western bank of the River Lea in the London Borough of Hackney. It was incorporated into the Lee Valley Park in 1967...
, where the bomb was detonated, leaving a crater 100 feet (30.5 m) wide.
The citation from a supplement to 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...
of September 27, 1940 (dated September 30, 1940) reads: