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	Gallantry		Gallantry

	Donald Fletcher
	Edward Medal
	Date:	10 Sep 1925
	Colliery:	Creswell Colliery, Derbyshire
	Occupation:

 

Whitehall, January 14, 1926.

His Majesty The King has been graciously pleased to award the Edward Medal to Donald Fletcher, a miner employed at the Creswell Colliery, Derbyshire, in the following circumstances:—

On September 10th, 1925, a heavy fall of roof to a depth of 16 feet took place at the Creswell Colliery in Derbyshire completely burying a miner named Cooper. Some of the larger pieces of the roof became interlocked affording him some protection from the full weight of the fall and thus prevented his being crushed to death. Efforts were made to discover where Cooper lay and it was found that his head was near the edge of the fall so that it was possible to free it from debris. His shoulders were next freed but his body and legs were held fast. The only way in which Cooper could be extricated was that someone should crawl under the debris and by working a passage alongside and over Cooper release him very gradually and stone by stone. Fletcher at once volunteered for this task and was successful after two hours' continuous work. Great patience and skill were required, and in the course of the work Fletcher's body was completely under the fall with his head close to Cooper's feet. Throughout the operation Fletcher was exposed to the risk of being crushed to death either by a second fall or by a settling down of the first fall, and he performed his task skilfully without regarding his own safety. Fletcher's action was a very brave one involving great risk to his own life and, indeed, in the latter stages of the work his position was more dangerous than Cooper's.

Source: London Gazette (26 Jan 1926)

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