| Citation: BEM Citation: On the 5th July, 1943, a fire broke out in a petrol truck on a railway siding about 50 yards from a Military Prison and Detention Barracks.
Sgt Rickards and Kirby after assisting the Regimental Sergeant Major to clear the prison of all its occupants, rushed to the railway station to offer what help they could. They noticed attached to the blazing petrol truck, other trucks loaded with petrol, bombs and small arms ammunition. Sergeants Rickards and Kirby with the assistance of an American lorry driver uncoupled these trucks and pushed the further down the siding out of danger. Their actions with no regard to personal safety, greatly reduced the damage and averted what might have been a major disaster. WO 373/68 Pt.1, Sheet 11. |
