Tri-Service

Bomb Disposal Hero's George Cross Sold For £144,000

A George Cross medal which was awarded to a man thought to have defused the most bombs during the Second World War has been sold.

The cross, belonging to Wing Commander Leonard Harrison, had been expected to fetch between £80,000 to £100,000 but sold for much more at £144,000.

It was bought by Lord Ashcroft and will go on public display at the Imperial War Museum as part of the Lord Ashcroft Collection of Victoria Crosses and George Crosses.

Wg Cdr Harrison once admitted that his most hazardous task was in 1940.

He boarded a trawler in Grimsby which had a live mine lodged in its bow.

Forces TV's Chloe Culpan spoke to medal expert David Erskine-Hill before the auction.

After spending four hours working on the mine, he realised that the firing pin had jammed and that any attempt to meddle with the arming mechanism would have almost certainly caused it to detonate.

Speaking before the sale, David Erskine-Hill, auctioneer at Dix Noonan Webb said:

“Harrison displayed extraordinary calmness and determination as German bombs rained down on Britain in 1940. He repeatedly found himself dealing with previously unknown types of bombs and fuses which often took hours to make safe. This was cold courage of the most remarkable kind.”

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