A particularly fine “London Blitz” George Medal awarded to Stretcher Bearer Sidney Kelsey, Air Raid Precautions Casualty Service, West Ham: having tunnelled to a casualty with his bare hands, he remained on the scene for at least 10 hours - ‘throughout the whole time he had to lie over three dead bodies in a hole largely excavated by himself and under overhanging debris in danger of collapse’

George Medal, G.VI.R., 1st issue (Sidney Kelsey), nearly extremely fine £1200-1500

G.M. London Gazette 6 June 1941:
‘A high explosive bomb damaged a house. After working through the night the Rescue Parties ascertained the position of a trapped woman. Kelsey, lying on his back, worked with bare hands to excavate a tunnel to reach the casualty and he undertook her treatment and support while efforts to rescue her were continued. For ten hours he had to lie in a hole among fallen debris, under heavy overhanging wreckage which was in danger of collapse and at a point near an escape of gas. Kelsey showed great gallantry and endurance in effecting this rescue.’

Further details of Sidney Kelsey’s extraordinary courage in the early morning hours of 20 March 1941, at Hudson Road, West Ham, appeared in the Stratford Express following the announcement of the award of his George Medal:

‘Mr. Sidney Kelsey, before joining the A.R.P. Casualty Service in October last year, was a hairdresser. He is 35 and lives at 1 Milton Street, Plaistow. He is attached to the Prince Regent Lane Depot.

He displayed great courage and took a great risk while a party was securing the rescue from under a wrecked house of a woman, who unfortunately died afterwards.

It was in March that a bomb shattered several houses, killing some people. A Mrs. Reid, seriously injured, was trapped under one of the houses and, after her position had been ascertained, Mr. Kelsey undertook to give her first aid and food while efforts to rescue her were continued. For about 12 hours, except for short intervals when he was pulled out from under the debris for circulation to be restored to his limbs, he lay in an upside down position, comforting the injured woman and supplying her with milk through a piece of tubing which he had cut from his first aid equipment. Throughout the whole time he had to lie over three dead bodies in a hole largely excavated by himself and under heavy overhanging debris in danger of collapse. An escape of gas from a damaged pipe added to the risk. In his efforts to reach the woman, he tunnelled a way with his bare hands, and after reaching her kept up his long vigil, treating, feeding and comfortiing her until she was brought out.’

On the night in question, which became known as “The Wednesday” by the inhabitants of East London, the Luftwaffe mounted a massive raid with around 480 aircraft, and of the resultant 630 fatalities, some 150 were from the West Ham area; see The Blitz Then and Now, Volume II, pp. 488-491, for further details and photographs.