Dennis Arthur Copperwheat

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Lieutenant Dennis Arthur Copperwheat (May 23 1914 - September 8 1992) of the Royal Navy won the George Cross for the heroism he displayed on 22 March 1942 in scuttling a burning ammunition ship in Valetta harbour [1].

In the midst of heavy German air attacks on Malta, Lieutenant Copperwheat commanded a squad of men from HMS Penelope sent to scuttle a Norweigian merchantman, laden with ammunition which was burning dangerously in the busy harbour. As the men laid scuttling charges, the fires were causing ammunition stored on the deck to explode all around them. The fires prevented the charges being laid in the ships hold, and had to be draped over the sides of the stricken vessel. The ship lay forty yards from the shore and, as the electric cables required to fire the charges could only just reach the shore, Copperwheat took it upon himself to fire the charges after seeing his men safely to cover. He was exposed to the full force of the charges he had laid and successfully sank the ship. Had the ship been left to burn, the inevitable explosion from the burning ammunition would have caused grevious damage to Valetta's vital harbour. Much of the ammunition from the ship was salvaged and used in the liberation of Italy.

The London Gazette announced the awarding of the George Cross on 17 November 1942.