George Walter Inwood

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Section Commander George Walter Inwood of the Home Guard was posthumously awarded the George Cross for the heroism he showed on the night of the 15th and 16th of October 1940 in Birmingham. Notice of his award appeared in the London Gazette on the 27th of May 1941. [1]

After a heavy German air raid, Inwood was asked by the police to aid in recovery work in Bishop Street. Leading six volunteers he discovered that half a dozen people were trapped in a gas filled cellar. A hole was dug and Inwood lowered on a rope. He managed to pull two men clear but was overcome by fumes on his third foray down. A doctor on the scene was unable to revive him. The citation noted that he "highest form of cool courage and self-sacrifice for others." [2] He was born on the 14th of September 1906 and is buried in Yardley Cemetery in Birmingham. His widow received his award at an investiture on the 10th of October 1941.