kids encyclopedia robot

Brandon Moss (police officer) facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Brandon Moss
Alfred Thomson 1941 GM portrait Brandon Moss GM.jpg
Brandon Moss by Alfred Thomson
Born
Brandon Moss

(1909-06-05)5 June 1909
Brandon, Suffolk, England
Died 9 August 1999(1999-08-09) (aged 90)
Nationality British
Known for George Cross recipient in World War II

Special Constable Brandon Moss GC (5 June 1909 – 9 August 1999) was a British police officer who was awarded the George Cross for his "superhuman efforts and utter disregard for personal injury" while with the Coventry Constabulary during World War II.

Life

Moss was born in 1909 and he was one of six children.

Moss married Vera Watson and had two daughters. He died, aged 90, in Coventry on 9 August 1999.

14 November 1940

On the night of 14/15 November 1940, following a heavy Luftwaffe air raid consisting of 437 aircraft dropping 394 tons of high explosives and 127 parachute mines (part of the Coventry Blitz), Moss led two rescue attempts on houses which had been destroyed by a high explosive bomb. Managing to free three people trapped in the rubble in the first house and another person in the second after seven hours of digging through the night. He also recovered four bodies.

A fractured gas main, further air raids and a delayed action bomb no more than twenty yards from the scene added to the danger of falling masonry and structural collapse.

Honours

UK George Cross ribbon.svg
Defence Medal BAR.svg UK Queen EII Coronation Medal ribbon.svg UK Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg Special Constabulary Long Service Medal.png

Ribbon Description Notes
UK George Cross ribbon.svg George Cross (GC)
  • 13 December 1940
Defence Medal BAR.svg Defence Medal
UK Queen EII Coronation Medal ribbon.svg Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal
  • 1953
UK Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal
  • 1977
  • UK Version of this Medal
Special Constabulary Long Service Medal.png Special Constabulary Long Service Medal
kids search engine
Brandon Moss (police officer) Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.