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Auction: 15002 - Orders, Decorations, Campaign Medals and Militaria
Lot: 145

A Good and Rare Second War 1940 'Bomb Disposal' B.E.M. Pair to Private C.E. Chaplin, Surrey Home Guard, For Assisting Lieutenant J.M.S. Patton, Royal Canadian Engineers, Remove an Unexploded Bomb That Had Been Dropped On The Vickers Aircraft Factory at Weybridge, 21.9.1940; For His Gallantry On This Occasion Patton Was Awarded the George Cross
a) British Empire Medal, G.VI.R., Military Division (Voltr. Cyril Egbert Chaplin, H.G.)
b) Defence Medal, extremely fine, with various photographs of the recipient on his wedding day (2)

B.E.M. London Gazette 22.1.1941 Volunteer Cyril Egbert Chaplin, Home Guard
'For gallant conduct in carrying out hazardous work in a very brave manner.'

The Recommendation [a joint one with Lieutenant J.M.S. Patton, Royal Canadian Engineers (awarded the George Cross), Section Leader A.H. Tilyard-Burrows, Home Guard (awarded the George Medal), and Volunteers W.J. Avery and E.A. Maslyn, Home Guard (both awarded the British Empire Medal)] states: 'On the morning of the 21st September 1940 at about 08:30 hours the Vickers Aircraft Factory at Weybridge was attacked by an enemy aircraft. Three bombs were dropped, two of which exploded, doing slight damage. The other, a 500-lb bomb, penetrated the factory roof, passed through a wall at the end, and came to rest on the concrete driveway outside the erecting shed, having failed to explode. As the explosion of the bomb at the position where it rested would have caused considerable damage, its immediate removal was a matter of national importance.
Lieutenant J.M.S. Patton, Royal Canadian Engineers, undertook to remove the bomb to a place of comparative safety, and Section Leader Tilyard-Burrows, together with Volunteers W.J. Avery, C.E. Chaplin, and E.A. Maslyn, with complete disregard of personal safety, and having no previous experience of handling unexploded bombs, immediately volunteered to assist.
The bomb was lashed to a sheet of corrugated iron, attached to a truck by wire cable and towed to a crater about 200 yards away where it could do no harm. The task was accomplished in little more than half an hour from the time the bomb had fallen. The bomb exploded the following morning.
Throughout the operation these men displayed cool courage of the highest order and contributed largely to the removal of a serious threat to the production of this factory.'

Private Cyril Egbert Chaplin, B.E.M. served with the 3rd (Weybridge) Battalion, Surrey Home Guard; two of his sons served during the Second World War, one being taken Prisoner of War in Italy whilst serving as a Gunner in the Royal Artillery.

These were the only three British Empire Medals awarded to members of the Home Guard for bomb disposal during the Second World War.

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Sold for
£1,500