Chief Petty Officer Reginald Vincent Ellingworth GC

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...

 of HMS Vernon (shore establishment)

HMS Vernon (shore establishment)

HMS Vernon was a shore establishment or 'stone frigate' of the Royal Navy. Vernon was established on 26 April 1876 as the Royal Navy's Torpedo Branch and operated until 1 April 1996, when the various elements comprising the establishment were split up and moved to different commands.-Foundation...

 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...

, as was Lt Cdr Lieutenant‑Commander Richard John Hammersley Ryan

Richard John Hammersley Ryan

Lieutenant Commander Richard John Hammersley Ryan GC RN was posthumously awarded the George Cross, as was Chief Petty Officer Reginald Vincent Ellingworth for the "great gallantry and undaunted devotion to duty" they displayed when losing their lives while attempting to defuse a mine which had...

 RN, for the 'great gallantry and undaunted devotion to duty' he displayed in losing in life while attempting to defuse a mine which had fallen during the blitz

The Blitz

The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...

 on 21 September 1940 in Dagenham

Dagenham

Dagenham is a large suburb in East London, forming the eastern part of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and located east of Charing Cross. It was historically an agrarian village in the county of Essex and remained mostly undeveloped until 1921 when the London County Council began...

 in Essex

Essex

Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

. Notice of his award appeared in 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 17 December 1940 (dated 20 December 1940).

The pair had defused many such devices together, and had just successfully defused a device in Hornchurch

Hornchurch

Hornchurch is a large suburban town in England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. Hornchurch is in North-East London .It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan. It comprises a number of shopping...

 which was threatening an aerodrome and explosives factory when they were called to Dagenham. The bomb there was hanging from its parachute on a warehouse. He is buried at Milton Cemetery

Milton Cemetery

Milton Cemetery is a historic cemetery at 211 Centre Street in Milton, Massachusetts.It was founded in 1672 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. Among those interred in the cemetery are:...

, Portsmouth

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

.