Period:

Second World War (1939-1945)

Rank:

Sergeant

Unit:

Cardiff Police Force, British Police Forces, Home Office, British Government

Awarded on:

April 25th, 1941

"On the night of January 2, 1941, police sergeant Henry George Ginn was on patrol in Cardiff when all hell broke loose in a quiet city street. A bomb had reduced Neville Street, Grangetown, Cardiff to rubble, but when he heard the cries of people trapped under the smoking wreckage, 43-year-old Mr Ginn, didn't think twice about going to help them. He and another police officer, known only as Fidoe, were drawn to a spot by the sound of a young boy singing 'God Save the King!' from under the rubble, and they dug tirelessly with their bare hands until they rescued six people and the boy."
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London Gazette: "A family was trapped in a demolished house. Sergeants Fidoe and Ginn, with bare hands, gradually dug a hole in the debris. Great care had to be taken on account of large pieces of masonry hanging dangerously, and it was not possible for more than one person to work in the hole at once.After two hours, during which time H.E. bombs had been dropped nearby and the debris had caught fire, seven people were released."