Thomas Alderson
Encyclopedia
Thomas Hopper Alderson GC
(15 September 1903 – 28 October 1965) was the first person to be directly awarded the George Cross
shortly after its creation in 1940. He was an Air Raid Precautions
(ARP) warden in Bridlington
.
He was fifth of six children. He went first to his local village school and then continued his schooling at Elwick Road senior boys' school, West Hartlepool
, becoming Head Boy
. During World War I
he witnessed the bombardment of West Hartlepool
by the German High Seas Fleet on 16 December 1914. After leaving school at 15 he first worked as an office boy and a draughtsman, and then undertook an engineering apprentice
ship. He joined the Merchant Navy, becoming a first engineer. Following the birth of his daughter in 1935 he became an engineer for West Hartlepool council. He moved to Bridlington in 1938 as works supervisor for the Corporation. Local authorities were responsible for air raid precautions
and trained their own workforces in rescue work. Alderson attended an anti-gas school at Easingwold
, near York
, and became an instructor in the subject.
He worked as part-time Air Raid Warden, leading a detachment of rescue and demolition parties in Bridlington. The coastal town was soon attacked by Luftwaffe
bombers, and residential areas were hit. On three occasions in August 1940 he led rescue teams and entered dangerous buildings to rescue trapped civilians. He was the first person to receive the newly-instituted George Cross from the King, and in a radio broadcast of the time insisted that his award was for all the rescue parties in Bridlington.
In 1946 he joined the East Riding of Yorkshire
County Council workforce as an assistant highways surveyor. He then joined the new Civil Defence Corps
, this time to protect the civilian population from nuclear warfare, rather than conventional bombs. On 28 October 1965 he died of lung cancer in Northfield hospital
at Driffield
, Yorkshire. His George Cross is on display at the Imperial War Museum
where it can be seen with a medal from the RSPCA, awarded later in the war for rescuing two horses from a burning stable.
citation appeared in a supplement to the issue of 27 September 1940, dated 30 September 1940:
George Cross
The George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...
(15 September 1903 – 28 October 1965) was the first person to be directly awarded the George Cross
George Cross
The George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...
shortly after its creation in 1940. He was an Air Raid Precautions
Air Raid Precautions
Air Raid Precautions was an organisation in the United Kingdom set up as an aid in the prelude to the Second World War dedicated to the protection of civilians from the danger of air-raids. It was created in 1924 as a response to the fears about the growing threat from the development of bomber...
(ARP) warden in Bridlington
Bridlington
Bridlington is a seaside resort, minor sea fishing port and civil parish on the Holderness Coast of the North Sea, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It has a static population of over 33,000, which rises considerably during the tourist season...
.
He was fifth of six children. He went first to his local village school and then continued his schooling at Elwick Road senior boys' school, West Hartlepool
West Hartlepool
This article refers to the place; for the Rugby Football Club see West Hartlepool R.F.C.West Hartlepool refers to the western part of the what has since the 1960s been known as the borough of Hartlepool in North East England...
, becoming Head Boy
Head boy
Head Boy and Head Girl are terms commonly used in the British education system, and in private schools throughout the Commonwealth.-United Kingdom:...
. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he witnessed the bombardment of West Hartlepool
West Hartlepool
This article refers to the place; for the Rugby Football Club see West Hartlepool R.F.C.West Hartlepool refers to the western part of the what has since the 1960s been known as the borough of Hartlepool in North East England...
by the German High Seas Fleet on 16 December 1914. After leaving school at 15 he first worked as an office boy and a draughtsman, and then undertook an engineering apprentice
Engineering apprentice
An engineering apprenticeship is an apprenticeship in mechanical engineering or electrical engineering. A typical example is the apprenticeships formerly available at the BTH and EEC at Rugby in England...
ship. He joined the Merchant Navy, becoming a first engineer. Following the birth of his daughter in 1935 he became an engineer for West Hartlepool council. He moved to Bridlington in 1938 as works supervisor for the Corporation. Local authorities were responsible for air raid precautions
Air Raid Precautions
Air Raid Precautions was an organisation in the United Kingdom set up as an aid in the prelude to the Second World War dedicated to the protection of civilians from the danger of air-raids. It was created in 1924 as a response to the fears about the growing threat from the development of bomber...
and trained their own workforces in rescue work. Alderson attended an anti-gas school at Easingwold
Easingwold
Easingwold is a small market town and a civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 4,233.It is located north of York, at the foot of the Howardian Hills....
, near York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, and became an instructor in the subject.
He worked as part-time Air Raid Warden, leading a detachment of rescue and demolition parties in Bridlington. The coastal town was soon attacked by Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
bombers, and residential areas were hit. On three occasions in August 1940 he led rescue teams and entered dangerous buildings to rescue trapped civilians. He was the first person to receive the newly-instituted George Cross from the King, and in a radio broadcast of the time insisted that his award was for all the rescue parties in Bridlington.
In 1946 he joined the East Riding of Yorkshire
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Yorkshire, is a local government district with unitary authority status, and a ceremonial county of England. For ceremonial purposes the county also includes the city of Kingston upon Hull, which is a separate unitary authority...
County Council workforce as an assistant highways surveyor. He then joined the new Civil Defence Corps
Civil Defence Corps
The Civil Defence Corps was a civilian volunteer organisation established in Great Britain in 1949 to take control in the aftermath of a nuclear attack. It was stood down in Great Britain in 1968...
, this time to protect the civilian population from nuclear warfare, rather than conventional bombs. On 28 October 1965 he died of lung cancer in Northfield hospital
Northfield Hospital
The Northfield Hospital was a psychiatric hospital located at Tessal Lane, Northfield near Birmingham, England, and is famous primarily for the work on group psychotherapy that took place there in the years of the Second World War...
at Driffield
Driffield
Driffield, also known as Great Driffield, is a market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The civil parish is formed by the town of Driffield and the village of Little Driffield....
, Yorkshire. His George Cross is on display at the Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
where it can be seen with a medal from the RSPCA, awarded later in the war for rescuing two horses from a burning stable.
Citation
The London GazetteLondon Gazette
The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
citation appeared in a supplement to the issue of 27 September 1940, dated 30 September 1940:
See also
- List of George Cross recipients
- Hissey, Terry - Come if ye Dare - The Civil Defence George Crosses, (2008), Civil Defence Assn (ISBN 9780955015328)