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	Gallantry		Gallantry

	George Paley
	British Empire Medal (Civil Division)
	Date:	11 Jul 1958
	Colliery:	Easington Colliery
	Occupation:	Blacksmith

 

Awarded the British Empire Medal (Civil Division):—

George Paley, Blacksmith, Easington Colliery, County Durham. (Peterlee.)

Early one morning while 14 men were being lowered down a shaft, 1,500 feet deep, at the Easington Colliery, one of the gates of the empty bottom deck of the descending cage came open and struck a cable clamp on the shaft wall. The cage continued to descend, violently colliding with successive obstacles on its way down, and was eventually brought to a standstill same 25 feet below a shaft inset but 300 feet from the bottom of the shaft. When a rescue party arrived at the inset, they could see the cage hanging in the shaft and were told that several men in the cage appeared to be badly injured. Before the cage could be moved and brought back to the inset, however, it was essential to inspect it and its attachments to the winding rope. Paley, although not accustomed to shaft work, immediately volunteered to slide down a shaft guide rope to the top of the cage and make an inspection. He reached the top of the cage and found it was obstructed by a shaft cable and by the open gate. He tied back the cable, managed to close the cage gate and did his best to reassure the shocked and injured men. The cage was then raised to the inset and the injured men were taken to the surface. In venturing into the shaft Paley exposed himself to considerable danger. He slid down a greasy rope for a distance of 25 feet and had he not been able to check his speed of descent he might have fallen to the bottom of the shaft with fatal consequences.

Source: London Gazette (07 Nov 1958)

Email	Researcher	Date	Interest
	Ian Raine	02 Apr 2010	George Paley's mother was my great aunt Meg (nee Margaret Hepple). I have dim memories of visiting Meg and her son George at Easington just before emigrating to Australia in the mid sixties. Tha's when I first learned about his BEM
	Ian Paley	28 Dec 2010	I have no research interest but I do know the family very well, if any information is require. George was my dads cousin and aunt Meggie was married to William (uncle Bill ) Paley . George married Kathy and had two children.
	Olwen Henshall nee Paley	10 May 2018	George Paley was my father. He passed away on his 77th birthday in 2001 after a few years suffering from Parkinson’s disease.

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