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“George Medal No Use To Cyril Anymore”

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Description: These images were taken for the December 10th, 1978 edition of the Tribune weekly newspaper, the first of which was published with the caption: “Medals Up For Grabs -Who wants them? Cyril with his medals.”

Cyril Kent wants to give away his George Medal, and other service medals he won during World War II - but nobody has taken him up on his idea yet. Cyril, known as Cyril George to the people of Tangimoana where he lives, says the medals now are no use to him. He was intending to give them to his little daughter, but she was killed in a car accident some time back. Now he wants his medals to be auctioned, to the highest bidder, and the proceeds given to the Palmerston North Medical Aid Trust and also used to help the intellectually handicapped children.

He said the Medical Aid Trust is an independent research body at the Palmerston North hospital, and needs funds to keep it going. "All I am doing is trying to help. These medals are no good to me now," the army, navy, and air force veteran says. He knows of only eight New Zealand people who've been awarded the George Medal, and three of them are Palmerstonians. He's heard that the Americans are particularly keen to get hold of awards of the George Medal's calibre, but he's reluctant to let them buy his medal outright and take it out of the country forever. A condition of his auction plans stipulates that his gift can leave New Zealand for only three months in any one year, for exhibitions.

Cyril won the George Medal in 1944 when he saved a number of personnel, and several RNZAF aircraft, from almost certain destruction. He still has the original copy of the citation presented to him along with the medal (which he received from New Zealand's then Governor-General, Sir Cyril Newell). The incident happened at the Espiritu Santos RNZAF base on New Caledonia in 1944, when a flare accidentally ignited amongst a stack of bombs and depth charges causing a situation "of grave danger to personnel and aircraft". Cyril, a fitter and armourer, got his left hand burned in his first attempt to remove the flare and prevent the imminent explosion. The citation says he persisted in his attempts, regardless of his own safety. He removed the flare, which was still burning fiercely, to a place of safety. He received further severe burns before succeeding, the citation said.”

These images form part of the Manawatū Evening Standard Negative Collection. Unfortunately, only negatives between April and December 1978 are held.