WO373/66 GEORGE MEDAL RECOMANDATION CITATION
Second Lieutenant James Marriott 74981,
The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry.
On 18th November, 1940, a Royal Air Force bomber made a forced landing close to some cliffs and rocks and heavy seas were breaking over the latter. Two of the crew of the bomber reached a rock a short distance from the shore, but were too weak from exposure to fix their own lifeline. Second-Lieutenant Marriott plunged into a very high sea at grave risk of being battered to death against the rocks and succeeded in making the lifeline fast to a rock. Both airmen were then hauled ashore by a buoy. This was the second occasion on which Second-Lieutenant Marriott displayed outstanding gallantry in the course of a few weeks.
WO373-66 GEORGE MEDAL RECOMMENDATION CITATION
No. 5379669 Private Henry SHARP,
The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry.
Private Sharp was cleaning Mills hand grenades in a hut. When he took one of the grenades out of its box he saw that there was no safety pin in it and that the lever was kept down by congealed grease. As he noticed this the grenade became alive through the lever springing up. He shouted a warning to two men who were in another portion of the hut, grabbed a blanket and held it over the grenade until it exploded. Private Sharp sustained serious injuries, including the loss of his left hand. Had he taken any other course, grave injury and perhaps loss of life to others in and around the hut would almost certainly have resulted. Private Sharp acted as he did with the full knowledge of the consequences to himself.
His action was one of outstanding gallantry.
WO373/69 GEORGE MEDAL RECOMMENDATION CITATION
Major (temporary Lieutenant-Colonel)
Ronald Davidson Reed Sale, O.B.E., T.D. (26375),
1st Buckinghamshire Battalion,
The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry.
At La Breche, France, in June, 1944, a bomb fell on one of four Sector Stores Dumps containing approximately 700 tons of petrol, ammunition and supplies and ordnance stores. Petrol was set on fire and ammunition started to blow up. With the bursting ammunition packages, red hot shell and lumps of burning wood were thrown about, setting fire to grass and causing casualties over a wide area. As the conflagration increased it was obvious that the fire would spread to two, if not all, dumps their loss would have curtailed, if not put an end to, further operations at a most vital period.
All men in the vicinity of the dump took cover, but Lieutenant-Colonel Sale, with complete disregard for his personal safety, calmly walked straight to the dump, carried out a brief reconnaissance, got some men out of trenches and buildings in which they had been sheltering, and set about removing all vehicles which it was possible to move. He then went back and collected half a dozen men with shovels. He then decided that the fire should and would be stopped on the line of a lane 14 ft. wide, within 50 yards of the perimeter of the fire at the time of his reconnaissance. He personally set to work to beat out burning lumps of wood and camouflage nets, and by his calm bearing and personal example inspired those with him to such effect that after approximately three hours' work the fire was in fact halted. One third of the dump was thus saved; this included approximately 200 tons of ammunition and rations, the only available supplies for a Division for the following day.
Eventually Lieutenant-Colonel Sale was severely wounded by a piece of shell. He carried on until he was compelled to be taken away for medical attention.