William Marsden Eastman
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant William Marsden Eastman GC
(1911–1980) was awarded the George Cross
for his gallant bomb disposal
work from June to November 1940 on Malta
.
Notice of his award appeared in the "London Gazette
" on Christmas Eve, 1940.
"Colonel RL Jephson-Jones, RAOC and Major WM Eastman, RAOC, are awarded the George Cross for a joint achievement (bomb disposal) in Malta during the enemy's concentrated air attacks on the fortress in June to November 1940. On various dates, Captain Jephson-Jones and Lieutenant Eastman, worked under dangerous and trying conditions and performed acts of considerable gallantry in dealing with a large number of variously unexploded bombs, some of which were in a very highly dangerous state and of the German delayed action type."
After the war he commanded the RAOC Training Centre until his retirement in 1966, when he retired with his wife to Malta, where he died, and is buried in the Ta' Braxia Cemetery in Pietà
.
An article was published in "The Sunday Times of Malta" in 2008 reporting the sale of the George Cross medal to the Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment Museum. A subsequent web posting recorded anecdotes of Eastman's wartime sojourns in Malta, including a tale describing "the occasion he journeyed to a UXB site on a motorbike, with his girlfriend [and future wife], Yvonne Vassallo along for the ride - she unhesitatingly accepted his invitation to sit on the UXB and steady it as he went about his perilous work!".
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...
(1911–1980) 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 his gallant bomb disposal
Bomb disposal
Bomb disposal is the process by which hazardous explosive devices are rendered safe. Bomb disposal is an all encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functions in the following fields:*Military:...
work from June to November 1940 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...
.
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 Christmas Eve, 1940.
"Colonel RL Jephson-Jones, RAOC and Major WM Eastman, RAOC, are awarded the George Cross for a joint achievement (bomb disposal) in Malta during the enemy's concentrated air attacks on the fortress in June to November 1940. On various dates, Captain Jephson-Jones and Lieutenant Eastman, worked under dangerous and trying conditions and performed acts of considerable gallantry in dealing with a large number of variously unexploded bombs, some of which were in a very highly dangerous state and of the German delayed action type."
After the war he commanded the RAOC Training Centre until his retirement in 1966, when he retired with his wife to Malta, where he died, and is buried in the Ta' Braxia Cemetery in Pietà
Pietà, Malta
Tal-Pietà is a small town located on the outskirts of Valletta, the capital city of Malta. Tal-Pietà is the suburb next-closest to the capital after Floriana. Its name is derived from Italian and signifies "mercy".-Description:...
.
An article was published in "The Sunday Times of Malta" in 2008 reporting the sale of the George Cross medal to the Queen's Royal Surrey Regiment Museum. A subsequent web posting recorded anecdotes of Eastman's wartime sojourns in Malta, including a tale describing "the occasion he journeyed to a UXB site on a motorbike, with his girlfriend [and future wife], Yvonne Vassallo along for the ride - she unhesitatingly accepted his invitation to sit on the UXB and steady it as he went about his perilous work!".