Hammer

£540

BWM & Victory Medal to 49652 Pte R A Allen North'N R. Gassed during WW1. Later served as a Police Constable in 1939, received the Kings Commendation for Brave Conduct, L/G 17/7/1945, "P" Div Metropolitan Police (Civil Defence). Recommended for the BEM (Civil) 30/41945 by the Commissioner of Police. Particulars of the Action as follows 'At about 10pm on 11/2/1945 a rocket fell at the back of some houses in Marnock Road and Brockley Grove S.E. Police Constable Allen, attached to Lewisham Police Station was cycling home from duty at the time. It was a very dark, wet night. Although his house was only 200 yards from the explosion he did not go on to see if it was damaged but turned back to Marnock Road. On his arrival there a woman called out to him that her baby was in an Anderson Shelter at the back of a badly damaged house. he ran to the spot through the ruins and found that the front of the shelter had been blown in and was blocked with earth and timber. He quickly cleared a way in, handed the baby out to its mother, helped a man out and then carried out the mans wife. He also obtained blankets for them. He then heard screams coming from another house nearby and went to investigate. After removing debris at the back of the house he found a 5 year old boy who was held down by a large joist. He freed the boy and handed him over to the first aid party. In searching the ruins of a third house from which cries were coming he found a man in bed held down by a piece of timber across his head. He freed the man and carried him over to the first aid party. On the way this man told him that a woman and baby were in the ruined house. Allen went back and rescued both of them. The man then told him that cries were coming from a fourth house which had collapsed. He went there, climbed up the pile of debris and crawled through a small space under the edge of the roof. After a time he found a women imprisoned under a table by the collapse of the floor above. He removed an armchair which had been blocking her escape, got her out and, after a good deal of difficulty, lowered her down to street level through the remains of the window. When he had done this he went to the back of the house and helped to rescue a woman who was trapped under the stairs. By the time this women was rescued all the Civil Defence Services had arrived an there was nothing left for him to do'. With copied research. (2)