Roy Harris (British Army soldier) explained

Roy Thomas Harris
Birth Date:1 August 1902
Birth Place:Cardiff, Wales
Death Place:Wolverhampton, England
Allegiance:United Kingdom
Branch:British Army
Serviceyears:1939–1945
Rank:ARP Officer
Unit:ARP
Battles:Second World War
Awards:George Cross
Mentioned in dispatches

Roy Thomas Harris, GC (1 August 1902 – 18 August 1973) was an Air Raid Precautions officer who was awarded the George Cross for the "conspicuous gallantry" he displayed in defusing unexploded bombs that had fallen on Langdale Road in Thornton Heath, Surrey, during the Second World War.[1]

He later joined the Royal Engineers where he reached the rank of Hon. Major.

George Cross

While working as the Chief Combustion Engineer to Croydon Corporation, Harris was serving as a captain in The Queen's Royal Regiment, attached to the Croydon Home Guard.

On the night of 17/18 September, a Luftwaffe bombing raid had resulted in a number of unexploded devices being found at a school on Langdale Road in Thornton Heath, Surrey. Harris proceeded to the school to defuse the bombs and save the school from certain destruction.

Harris's George Cross citation appeared in the London Gazette on 17 December 1940:[2]

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. http://www.queensroyalsurreys.org.uk/gc/gc03.shtml Captain Roy Thomas Harris GC
  2. http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/35016/supplements/7093/page.pdf London Gazette 17 December 1940