Bravery of hero who rescued Birkenhead family during Blitz is remembered as medal up for auction

Jul 6 2011 by William Leece, Birkenhead News

THE heroism of an Irishman who came to the rescue of victims of the blitz in Birkenhead 70 years ago will be recalled when his medals go up for auction today, possibly raising as much as £50,000.

Corporal James Scully won the highest award possible for bravery outside combat when he was awarded the George Cross for his part in the long rescue of a family trapped in the ruins of a house in Carnforth Street.

Although Ireland was officially neutral in World War II, Cpl Scully, a 31-year-old Dubliner, was one of thousands of his countrymen who volunteered for the British armed forces.

He was on duty with the Pioneer Corps when a bomb hit the street in Birkenhead on the night of March 13 1941.

A man and a woman were trapped under the wreckage and Cpl Scully and an officer, Lt Charles Chittenden, started to dig to get them out.

But the deeper they dug, the more dangerous the work became. Cpl Scully braced himself against the unstable wreckage using a plank to hold the weight, but as the bricks pushed him forward, his body gave way and his face was pushed into the ground.

Lt Chittenden managed to keep him from smothering – and there the two men stayed for eight long hours while the trapped householders were rescued, knowing that any time the damaged house could collapse completely and kill them all.