Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Lieutenant

Unit:

2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays), 2nd Armoured Brigade, 7th Armoured Division, British Army

Awarded on:

November 10th, 1945

For gallantry in action while serving with the Royal Armored Corps, The Queen's Bays, near the Marina Canal, Italy, on 17 April 1945. Ordered to cross the Marina Canal and assist an infantry unit in securing a bridgehead and then advance to an objective some 2,000 yards farther into the enemy held territory, Lieutenant Read, in command of a group of tanks was forced to lead his armor across flat open terrain dominated by enemy observation and fire. Despite the murderous hail of lead and steel that rained down upon him, he continued to press relentlessly forward and as was inevitable in his tank, which was in advance of the assault, received a direct hit. Although wounded and unable to continue the attack, Lieutenant Read, by his self sacrificing courage and utter contempt for personal danger, so inspired the remainder of his unit and the infantry troops that they forged ahead completely annihilating the enemy and overrunning their positions.