Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria. To coincide with the OMRS Convention

A good George Medal group of three awarded to Fireman William Topping, Works Fire Brigade, Royal Ordnance Factory, Kirkby

George Medal, G.VI.R., 1st issue (William Topping); Defence Medal; Imperial Service Medal, E.II.R., 2nd issue (William Topping G.M.) extremely fine (3) £1000-1200

G.M. London Gazette 18 September 1945:

Richard Arthur Samuel Byewater, G.C., Factory Development Officer
William Ernest Denny, Assistant Superintendent, Royal Ordnance Factory, Kirkby
Roy Thomas William Edwards, Agent for Thos. Bates & Son, Ltd. Demolition Contractors
William Louis Fitzmaurice, M.B.E., Chief Technical Assistant
Ronald Donald Forbes, Leading Fireman, Works Fire Brigade
James Shanks Murdoch, B.E.M., Shop Manager
William James Panton, B.E.M., Foreman
Mark Victor Rowling, B.E.M., Shop Manager
William Topping, Fireman, Works Fire Brigade

‘An explosion occurred at the Royal Ordnance Factory, Kirkby, during the filling of highly dangerous ammunition. The night was exceptionally dark, there was no moon and it was raining heavily. The major explosion was followed by others. Almost all lights were extinguished and soon the only illumination in and around the shattered bomb strewn building was given by the fires which broke out. The morale of the Factory staff was superb. All the operatives were aware of the dangerous nature of the work and immediately the noise of the explosion was heard, rescuers ran from all the near-by buildings. Girl operatives, who had made their escape from the building, returned to bring out their injured friends. The Factory Fire Brigade were on the spot within a matter of minutes and ran their hose into the building. Whilst the fires blazed and bombs continued to explode, the injured were brought out and desperate attempts made to release a trapped man. They continued until the Assistant Superintendent, who was in charge in the absence on leave of the Superintendent, ordered everyone to leave the building and take shelter behind the mounds. The responsibility laid upon Mr Denny was heavy, but his decision was justified, as in a few minutes another explosion brought down more wreckage. It was nearly daybreak when a pile of bombs in their wooden crates, crushed beneath the fallen roof was seen to be on fire and out of reach of the firemen’s hose. The fire was gaining and, had it taken hold, the consequences would have been disastrous over a wide area of the factory.

Mr Denny entered the building alone. He sought some way of getting at the flames and having found this, came out and explained the position to Forbes and Topping. Without hesitation the two men volunteered to enter the building and tackle the fire from within at the proposed angle and range. Standing among the damaged ammunition, which the rush of water was sufficient to disturb, with consequent risk of detonation, they brought the fire under control and completely extinguished it.’

The lengthy citation goes on to describe the lengthy salvage task of clearing the wrecked building and the roles played by the other recipients of the George Medal, many of whom had already been decorated for other incidents. The ammunition which had caused the explosion was anti-personnel and anti-disturbance, and the fuzed time-bombs, scattered over and under the debris, made clearance nearly impossible by detonating without warning and in an absolutely unpredictable way.

See Lot 1157 for the medals to his father who was killed in the Great War.