Brave men. I would be heading in the opposite direction.
(MBE) from the London Gazette:
17th May, 1940.
The KING has been graciously pleased to approve of the following Award: —
The Medal of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, for Meritorious Service: —
Robert Longstaff, Proprietor of the Togston Garage, North Broomhill.
On December 27th, 1939, a Hampden bomber of the Royal Air Force was returning from an operation over enemy territory. On preparing to land, the aircraft crashed within 500 yards of the boundary of the aerodrome and burst into flames. The pilot of the aircraft was seriously injured and the other two members of the crew were killed.
Mr. Robert and Mr. George Longstaff, who are proprietors of a garage in the vicinity of the aerodrome, heard the noise of the crash and immediately went to the scene with fire extinguishers. On arrival they found the aircraft on fire, but Mr. Robert Longstaff managed to get the pilot clear of the machine by cutting some of the rigging with which he had became entangled. He then, with Mr. George Longstaff, made attempts to rescue the other two airmen who were trapped in the fuselage. They were warned that there might be bombs on the aircraft, but they continued to use their utmost efforts, in spite of the fact that machine-gun ammunition was exploding and the flames increasing in severity. It was only when the heat became altogether too intense that they gave up their efforts to free the airmen.
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