George Walter Inwood
Encyclopedia
Section Commander
George Walter Inwood of the Home Guard was posthumously awarded the George Cross
for the heroism he showed on the night of the 15th and 16th of October 1940 in Birmingham
. Notice of his award appeared in the London Gazette
on the 27th of May 1941.
After a heavy German air raid, Inwood was asked by the police to aid in recovery work in Bishop Street. Leading six volunteers he discovered that half a dozen people were trapped in a gas filled cellar. A hole was dug and Inwood lowered on a rope. He managed to pull two men clear but was overcome by fumes on his third foray down. A doctor on the scene was unable to revive him. The citation noted that he "highest form of cool courage and self-sacrifice for others."
He was born on the 14th of September 1906 and is buried in Yardley Cemetery in Birmingham. His widow received his award at an investiture on the 10th of October 1941.
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
George Walter Inwood of the Home Guard was posthumously 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 showed on the night of the 15th and 16th of October 1940 in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. Notice of his award appeared 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 27th of May 1941.
After a heavy German air raid, Inwood was asked by the police to aid in recovery work in Bishop Street. Leading six volunteers he discovered that half a dozen people were trapped in a gas filled cellar. A hole was dug and Inwood lowered on a rope. He managed to pull two men clear but was overcome by fumes on his third foray down. A doctor on the scene was unable to revive him. The citation noted that he "highest form of cool courage and self-sacrifice for others."
He was born on the 14th of September 1906 and is buried in Yardley Cemetery in Birmingham. His widow received his award at an investiture on the 10th of October 1941.