Chief Petty Officer Reginald Vincent Ellingworth GC of HMS Vernon (shore establishment) was posthumously awarded the George Cross, as was Lt Cdr Lieutenant‑Commander Richard John Hammersley Ryan 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 on 21 September 1940 in Dagenham in Essex. Notice of his award appeared in a supplement to the London Gazette of 17 December 1940 (dated 20 December 1940).[1][2]
The pair had defused many such devices together, and had just successfully defused a device in Hornchurch 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.[3] He is buried at Milton Cemetery, Portsmouth.[3]
References
- ^ "No. 35018". The London Gazette (invalid
|supp=(help)). 17 December 1940.{{cite magazine}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ The George Cross at Sea, 1939-45
- ^ a b Casualty details — Ellingworth, Reginald Vincent, Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 2008-02-13