Christine Granville ... "nothing remotely civil"

As a follow-up to my earlier posts on little-known women who have won the George Medal, I have just read the story of another more famous recipient of this award, Christine Granville, born Krystyna Skarbek, the subject of the recent book by Clare Mulley entitled The Spy Who Loved. 

I was astonished to learn that Christine had originally been recommended for the George Cross but was "downgraded" to a George Medal and that even that didn't come easily. I quote the following passage from Clare Mulley's book which demonstrates the attitudes Christine was up against in spite of her incredible bravery that was equal to that of any man:

"Christine's courage and achievements throughout her service were admired by everyone who knew her. In December 1944, General Stawell had recommended her for the George Cross, the civil equivalent to the Victoria Cross, for her 'nerve, coolness and devotion to duty, and high courage'. But Christine was not impressed. The only medal that she would be proud to wear she told Francis [Cammaerts] would be a military medal. It was 'typical' of her, he said, that this was the one honour she could not hope to get.'  Women were ineligible for British military honours, a situation that caused another female agent, Pearl Witherington, to protest that 'there was nothing remotely civil' about what they had done. For reasons not recorded, General Alexander, the Supreme Allied Commander of the Mediterranean Theatre, then downgraded Stawell's recommendation for Christine to an OBE. This was subsequently raised to a George Medal by the War Office to 'make it obvious that she had been decorated for gallantry, as her courage was outstanding'."

The Spy who Loved

My own review of the book can be read on my other blog Regina the Bookspinner here.

Female George Medal Recipients (3)

A more sensational peace-time event that earned a young woman the George Medal took place in Australia in 1972. It was known as the Faraday School Kidnapping, and its hero was Mary Elizabeth Gibbs.

Miss Gibbs was 20 years old and in charge of the one-teacher school in Faraday in the farming area near the town of Castlemaine, in the State of Victoria. Two armed men broke into the school and abducted Gibbs and six of her female students (four were away due to illness).  The men left a ransom note for $1,000,000 and forced their hostages into a van and drove into a forest. To stop the children from being frightened, Miss Gibbs pretended it was a game and sang songs to them during the night. Just before dawn, she discovered that the men had left the front of the van and she urged the children to kick open the back door with her. They were lucky as the door came free and they were able to make their escape.

Connected to this event was another feat of bravery on the part of the State of Victoria's Minister for Education at the time, Lindsay Thompson. He later became Premier of the State. He delivered the ransom money in person to the place where the hostages were being kept, but fortunately they had escaped before the money could be handed over. In an amazing second incident, five years later after the kidnapper had been released from prison he attempted the same thing, abducting a teacher and group of students in rural Gippsland. Mr Thompson rushed to the scene where he intended to offer himself in exchange for the hostages, but the kidnapper was arrested after a shoot-out with the police. (One can't imagine a modern politician putting his life on the line like this!). More about the late Lindsay Thompson here. 

Lindsay Thompson, Mary Gibbs and Christine Ellery (former student) at Faraday School 2004.
Copyright The Age

One important outcome of these events was that one-teacher schools in remote areas of Australia became a thing of the past and hastened the closure of other rural schools with low enrolments.

More on the Faraday kidnapping story here and more detail in the links below. (They may work, or not, depending on your location as all these newspapers now charge for such archival records.)

Author Gabrielle Lord wrote a novel called Fortress, loosely based on the event and which spawned a movie of the same name.

Herald Sun

The Australian

The Age

Female George Medal Recipients (2)

Continuing with the George Medal theme, Sybil Kathigasu was a brave midwife who was caught and tortured by the Japanese after the occupation of Singapore during World War II.

Her name is probably unknown outside of her home country of Malaysia and it seems that even Malaysians themselves know little of her and why she received her medal. The London Gazette entry of 1947 gives few details and rather than repeating her story here, please follow the link to this blog "Hornbill Unleashed"  - with the warning that the graphic descriptions of how Sybil was tortured by the Japanese may be disturbing to some readers.

There is also this English language video on YouTube.

A mini-series called "Apa Dosaku" was made about Sybil in 2010. Whether it has been shown in countries other than Malaysia or is available for viewing with English sub-titles I have been unable to discover. For more information, see the website of the Malaysian film company Red Communications. Again with a warning that the video trailer is confronting.

This kind of story demands a wider audience beyond Asia. All of us need to be reminded of some of these forgotten episodes of World War II and the bravery of the people who stood up to their invaders.

Sybil never recovered from the brutal treatment she received and died in 1948 but she did manage to leave behind a partly finished memoir entitled "No Dram of Mercy" that was recently reprinted in Malaysia.

Her daughter, Dawn, escaped the prospect of being roasted alive at the age of six. Here is a cutting about her from The Courier Mail of 2 February 1953.

Female George Medal Recipients (1)

Whenever one reads citations for bravery awards one is always in awe of what ordinary people are capable of when faced with extreme situations and the next few posts in this blog will search out some of the obscure women who have been recognised for such awards, including the comparative few who have received the George Medal.

The George Medal was first instituted in 1940 by King George VI to recognise the bravery of policemen, fire-fighters, nurses and other civilians not eligible for military awards during World War II and it has continued ever since.

The first story is one from my own youth and happened just outside my hometown. An African woman showed extraordinary courage when she rescued a white policeman from a crocodile attack. He had just rescued three children before the crocodile turned on him. Here is the full citation from The London Gazette of Friday, 6th April 1962, pages 2917 & 8

CENTRAL CHANCERY OF

THE ORDERS OF KNIGHTHOOD 

St. James's Palace, London S.W.I.

10th April 1962.

The QUEEN has been graciously pleased to give orders for the undermentioned awards of the George Medal and of the British Empire Medal, and for the publication in the London Gazette of the names of those specially shown below as having received an expression of Commendation for their brave conduct.

Awarded the George Medal

...

John William Maxwell, Assistant Inspector, Northern Rhodesia Police, Western Province of Northern Rhodesia.

Mrs. Belini Maloni, Children's Nurse, Ballybush Farm, Chingola, Northern Rhodesia.

Whilst swimming in the Kafue River with three children aged 7, 9 and 12 years, Assistant Inspector Maxwell saw a large crocodile between them and the river bank. He called to the children and directed them to a rock, projecting from the river, on to which he climbed. The 9 year old boy scrambled to safety with his assistance, but the two other boys were unable to climb the rock due to its slippery surface and to their being petrified with fear. The crocodile approached and Maxwell jumped between it and the children. With complete disregard for his personal safety and appreciating that he was laying himself open to attack he helped the boys out of the river and on to the rock. He lifted the elder boy out and while helping the other, Maxwell was seized by the crocodile. He beat it on the snout and in the eye and it released him, but it immediately turned in the water and seized him again before he could get on to the rock. He was dragged into deep water, but managed to open the crocodile's jaws and release his leg. Then, with his fingers, he gouged out the eyes of the beast and it let go its hold. With his left foot practically severed and his right leg badly mauled, Maxwell swam to the rock where he climbed out. With the help of the children he tore up a towel and applied a tourniquet to his leg to prevent further loss of blood. Belini Maloni was at her employer's farm when children called for aid in rescuing Maxwell from the rock. Mrs. Maloni ran to the river. She was unable to swim, the crocodile was thrashing about in the water and there was danger that other crocodiles would be attracted. She nevertheless entered the river and waded across to Maxwell. She assisted him on to her back and, crawling on her hands and knees, carried him through the water to safety. Belini Maloni, in spite of being terrified, entered the river with complete disregard for her own safety, knowing full well the risk, and her cool bravery in the face of serious danger made possible the rapid medical attention necessary for saving Maxwell's life.

There is little else to be found on Belini Maloni. Probably reports and photographs are accessible in yet to be digitised archives of the colonial newspapers of the day, but the only one to be found online is a fuzzy photo of her from the Sydney Morning Herald of 18 April 1962, as she received news of her recognition.

The London Times 11 April 1962 also carried this article about John William Maxwell (no relation of mine by the way) and rather typically for the era, it is sad to say, Belini seems to receive only secondary recognition. In hindsight, one might also query the wisdom of Maxwell and the children swimming in the river in the first place knowing that the Kafue River had crocodiles, but that must never diminish the bravery of those involved.

If she is still alive, where is Belini Maloni now? It may be her name wasn’t spelled as it ought to have been. I recall she also received the gift of a bicycle (as valuable as a car to Africans in that era) and it was probably more useful and appreciated than the medal. 

If anyone reading this knows any more about what happened to all the people involved, and in particular this exceptional woman, please contact me.