- SURNAME
East
- FORENAME
Francis Robert
- UNIT
Royal Army Ordnance Corps
- RANK
T/Captain
- NUMBER
171310
- AWARD
Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
- PLACE
England 1943
- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
London Gazette 36265, 26th November 1943, Page 5229
CITATION:
Member of the Order of the British Empire : On the 14th August, 1943, unserviceable ammunition was being dumped at sea when a round exploded, injuring two soldiers, one seriously.
The dumping was suspended and an investigation confirmed that there had been no mishandling and that the explosion was caused by a misfired primer in a highly sensitive condition.
The explosion scattered 23 rounds which were each known to contain a misfired primer and likely to be in an even more sensitive condition. Before dumping could be resumed these rounds had to be disposed of and, Captain Hayton, assisted by Captain East, carried out this hazardous duty, personally searching for the scattered rounds, handling them and dumping them overboard. The handling of each round was a dangerous operation and in carrying it out successfully, both Captain Hayton and Captain East displayed a high sense of duty and cool courage.
The dumping was suspended and an investigation confirmed that there had been no mishandling and that the explosion was caused by a misfired primer in a highly sensitive condition.
The explosion scattered 23 rounds which were each known to contain a misfired primer and likely to be in an even more sensitive condition. Before dumping could be resumed these rounds had to be disposed of and, Captain Hayton, assisted by Captain East, carried out this hazardous duty, personally searching for the scattered rounds, handling them and dumping them overboard. The handling of each round was a dangerous operation and in carrying it out successfully, both Captain Hayton and Captain East displayed a high sense of duty and cool courage.
WEB LINKS:
• https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/36265/supplement/5229/NATIONAL ARCHIVES:
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D7378634
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