Victoria Cross of Sergeant John Hannah

Sergeant John Hannah was just 18 years old when he was awarded the Victoria Cross for showing extraordinary courage and devotion to duty during a bombing operation in September 1940.

John was the wireless operator on board a Hampden which was hit by flak and set on fire during an operation to bomb invasion barges in Antwerp. Other crew members baled out but John remained, fighting the fires with extinguishers and then when they were empty, with his bare hands. His health never recovered from the severe burns he sustained, and he died seven years later.