Richard Ryan (GC)
| Richard John Hammersley Ryan | |
|---|---|
| Born |
23 July 1903 Rotherham, England |
| Died |
21 September 1940 (aged 37) Dagenham, England |
| Buried at | Haslar Royal Naval Cemetery |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom |
| Service/branch |
 Royal Navy |
| Years of service | 1922-1940 |
| Rank | Lieutenant Commander |
| Unit | HMS Vernon |
| Battles/wars |
World War II bomb disposal * The Blitz † |
| Awards |
 George Cross |
Lieutenant Commander Richard John Hammersley Ryan GC RN was posthumously awarded the George Cross, as was Chief Petty Officer Reginald Vincent Ellingworth for the "great gallantry and undaunted devotion to duty" they displayed when losing their lives while attempting to defuse a mine which had fallen on Dagenham in Essex on 21 September 1940.
Biography
Ryan was from a naval family, the son of Admiral Frank Edward Cavendish Ryan CBE. He joined the Royal Navy in the early 1920s, was promoted to Lieutenant in 1925,[1] and Lieutenant Commander on 1 August 1933.[2]
21 September 1940
The pair had defused many such devices together, and had just successfully defused a device in Hornchurch which was threatening an aerodrome and explosives factory when they were called to Dagenham. The bomb there was hanging from its parachute on a warehouse.[3]
George Cross citation
Notice of the award appeared in the London Gazette of the 20 December 1940.[4][5]
Chief Petty Officer Reginald Vincent Ellingworth worked as an assistant to Lieutenant Commander R. J. H. Ryan in rendering safe magnetic mines. They worked together on many assignments sharing equally the dangers involved. The principal hazard of these mines was the fact that the clock of the bomb fuse was normally timed to explode the mine about 22 seconds after it had landed. If the fuse failed to explode, the clock could be restarted by the slightest movement, even a footfall. The amount that the clock fuse had already run could never be known, and once it had re-started the time to escape could not be more than a few seconds. At Dagenham Essex the two officers tackled such a mine hanging by a parachute in a warehouse and were both killed by its explosion. Chief Petty Officer Ellingworth had previously been commended by the Captain of H.M.S VERNON for his work on mine disposal.— London Gazette
References
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 33121. p. 122. 5 January 1926. Retrieved 3 January 2008.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 33972. p. 5608. 25 August 1933. Retrieved 3 January 2008.
- ↑ Casualty details — Ryan, Richard John Hammersley, Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 13 February 2008
- ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 35018. p. 7107. 17 December 1940. Retrieved 3 January 2008.
- ↑ The George Cross at Sea, 1939-45