Full medal write up
‘The superintendent of the Division states that the determined and gallant efforts of Police Constable Griffiths, in working under the floorboards of the remains of a house partially demolished by a bomb explosion and in imminent danger of collapse, reflects great credit upon the officer. Ignoring all personal risk, he continued his work until he was able to extricate the woman from her perilous position.’
GEORGE MEDAL, G.VI.R., 1ST ISSUE ‘WILLIS GRIFFITHS’, DEFENCE MEDAL.
G.M. London Gazette 28 March 1941.The original shortened recommendation states:
‘In the Enfield area of Middlesex, in the northern suburbs, a high explosive bomb practically demolished a house in Bush Hill Road, Winchmore Hill, at 11.15 p.m. on 1 December 1940, fracturing gas and water mains and trapping a woman below the debris. P.C. W. Griffiths, together with Inspector J. C. Pulham, climbed over the debris, broke down a door and removed many bricks which were holding it fast. The Constable then cut through one of the rafters with a saw and was able to crawl below the floor, clearing a passage through the pile of bricks and mortar. Owing to the confined space this had to be done by scraping it away by hand and passing it back. The woman was found to be trapped behind a spring mattress, part of which was resting on her legs while another mattress was obstructing the approach to her. The two officers were able to drag the second mattress away with a rope and a small coal shovel was then used to remove sufficient debris to enable a doctor to reach the woman and give her an injection. A saw and some pliers were then passed to the constable who sawed through the mattress frame and released her legs and broke the spring away from the frame, allowing her to be released after the rescue action had taken two hours. On 16 November, the Inspector went to the rescue of a man entombed in a demolished house in Park Way, Enfield, where he had managed to wriggle under some wreckage and lift it in such a way that he took the weight of the casualty while other members of the party completed the rescue. On 13 November, he rescued an elderly woman casualty who was trapped in her bedroom in a house in Bush Hill Park by climbing a partially destroyed staircase to the third floor. Despite the fact that a fire had broken out in the house he carried her to safety.’
This recommendation was taken from a larger narrative statement by Sir Philip Game Metropolitan Police Commissioner and also included statements from the trapped woman and Doctor, all of which add more information (See pics).
The statements reveal the name of the trapped woman, who was well known Canadian novelist of the time and winner of the 1933 Femina Vie Heureuse Prize; Bradda Field 1893-1957.
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/a77f8754-6b14-448c-a06f-a491a43387f5
Willis Griffiths from Waunarlwydd, Swansea, was born circa 1906 and joined the Metropolitan Police in November 1926. Posted to “Y” Division, a unit whose area of operations included parts of London, Hertfordshire and Middlesex, he was invested with his G.M. at Buckingham Palace on 21 December 1941. A newspaper article on Constable Griffiths award states he had been commended Police Commissioner on a number of other occasions prior to the award of the George Medal.
The attack launched on London on 1 December 1940 was a subsidiary raid to a large strike on Southampton, the Luftwaffe having to rely on ‘DR’ (Dead Reckoning) as cloud and mist obscured much of the city. Encountering medium flak of moderate accuracy, the 17 attacking aircraft dropped around 30 tonnes of H.E. bombs, most of the evening’s damage being sustained in the outer suburbs, of which Enfield was one.
Condition GVF, the first with original ribbon and pin, minor repair suspension loop, ex DNW 2009.
A very fine Police Constable’s gallantry award for the London Blitz.