Ivor Gillett

Ivor John Gillett, GC was a British airman and a recipient of the George Cross. Serving with the Far East Flying Boat Wing of the Royal Air Force, Gillett was posthumously awarded the George Cross for the gallantry he displayed on 26 March 1950 following an explosion on board a Sunderland flying boat.

George Cross

Gillett was on board a Sunderland flying boat that exploded at its moorings in Seletar on 26 March 1950. The plane sank quickly and Gillett was thrown a life belt by rescuers on a launch. He selflessly threw the belt to an injured corporal, whom the rescue team had not spotted, and the belt kept the man afloat until he was rescued. The corporal had by then lost consciousness and would otherwise have drowned. Gillett disappeared in the confusion and his body was discovered two days later. His citation, published in the London Gazette on 3 October 1950, read: