Medals awarded to a bomb disposal hero dubbed ‘the man who saved Charing Cross’ after he bravely disarmed a parachute mine using just a hammer and chisel during the Blitz could fetch £140,000 at auction.
Acting Lieutenant-Commander Ernest ‘Mick’ Gidden spent six hours tackling the 1,000lb device, which landed on Hungerford Bridge outside Charing Cross Station in April 1941.
He could not apply a safety device, meaning it could have detonated at any moment and killed hundreds in the vicinity of the busy central London station.
At one stage, he heard the fuse start ‘ticking’ but there was no chance of escape.
Historians have dubbed the incident one of ‘the great epics of the war.’
Fortunately Lieutenant Gidden rendered the mine safe and was awarded a prestigious George Cross for his ‘great gallantry and undaunted devotion to duty’.
The brave hero had previously received the George Medal after disarming a 750lb mine which landed in a narrow alley between two homes in Harlesden, north west London, in September 1940.
It had to be dragged out of the ground then lowered into a lorry where Lieutenant Gidden and Able Seaman Lipsham removed the electric detonator and primer.
Medals awarded to bomb disposal hero Ernest ‘Mick’ Gidden, dubbed ‘the man who saved Charing Cross’ after he bravely disarmed a parachute mine using just a hammer and chisel during the Blitz, could fetch £140,000 at auction. Above: The hero with his George Cross
He spent six hours tackling the 1,000lb device (above), which landed on Hungerford Bridge outside Charing Cross Station in April 1941
For his actions, Lieutenant Gidden became the first man to be awarded both honours.
At the height of the Blitz, the bomb expert dealt with 25 mines in a year.
In 1943, he added OBE to his name after tackling a mine dropped off Seasalter, near Whitstable in Kent. The explosive was 30ft down and was exposed to passing shipping.
Removing it took 68 hours using a skip and crane, with Lieutenant Gidden and Leading Seaman Pickett remaining at the bottom of the shaft to render it safe.
While they were uncovering the first fuse, air started to escape, giving the impression that the clock had started.
They had no chance of getting clear so they carried on working on the fuse before the mine was floated to the surface.
Acting Lieutenant-Commander Gidden’s medal group is set to go under the hammer at London-based Noonans, of Mayfair, with a pre-sale estimate of £100,000 to £140,000.
Nimrod Dix, deputy chairman of Noonans and director of the medal department, said: ‘Gidden, who was born in Hampstead, was a master of mine disposal operations and the first man to be awarded both the George Cross and George Medal.
For his actions, Lieutenant Gidden became the first man to be awarded both the George Cross and the George Medal. Above left to right: George Cross; OBE; George Medal; 1939-45 Star; France and Germany Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Coronation 1953
A huge hole in the Strand, where a bomb was dropped during an air raid over central London
At the height of the Blitz, the bomb expert dealt with 25 mines in a year. Pictured: Damage following the German bombing of Smithfields Market in London
Bomb damage to St Paul’s Cathedral as a result of German bombing in London during the Second World War
‘His gallantry in dealing with a parachute mine on Hungerford Bridge, outside Charing Cross Station, in April 1941, was among the great epics of the war.
‘In a six-hour operation, in which he was unable to apply a safety device for much of that time, he had to resort to using a hammer and chisel.
‘Just eight men have been awarded the combination of the George Cross and George Medal.
‘The addition of the OBE makes this a unique combination of awards.’
Gidden was born in Hampstead, north London, in 1910 and was a member of the Auxiliary Fire Service before the Second World War broke out.
He joined the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and undertook a crash course in mine disposal as a member of the Admiralty’s torpedo and mines department.
On April 17, 1941, he sprung into action when the Germans dropped a parachute mine on Hungerford Bridge.
The bombing raid caused trains, sleepers and the local hotel to catch fire, and all underground trains were stopped.
Gidden undertook to defuse bombs despite the imminent danger he was in. Pictured: Rescuers assist in finding victims after a raid on Chelsea, West London
Many local buildings, including the War Office, were evacuated as Gidden approached the bridge just after dawn.
His George Cross citation reads: ‘Lieutenant Gidden found the mine lying across a live electric wire at the foot of the main signal gantry, with the bomb fuse and primer release mechanism facing downwards.
‘The electric current from the rail had melted some of the metal around the bomb fuse and primer release mechanism to such an extent that if the fuse was removed at all, it could only be done by drilling.
‘And, further, before any attempt could be made to arrest the operation of the fuse by the insertion of a ‘gag’, a lump of molten metal had to be prised from the surface of the fuse itself.
‘Before operations of any kind could be commenced the mine had to be turned to get at the bomb fuse.
‘Turning the mine was in itself likely to detonate it, with disastrous results for railway communications and important buildings.
‘In order, therefore, to be in a position to control the operation with accuracy, Lieutenant Gidden stood at 50 yards only from the mine, while the necessary pull was being exerted from a distance.
‘To appreciate the danger of this case, it should be understood that the fuses in these mines are clockwork and liable to be actuated by the slightest vibration.
‘Lieutenant Gidden had to stop firemen playing water on the sleepers and trains while he got to work, and the burning wood kept giving off loud cracks during the whole of the operations, thus hampering his ability to listen for the clockwork in the fuse running, which is essential for safety.
‘He successfully cleared the surface of the fuse, and inserted a ‘gag’ but the melting had damaged the part in question, and the gag was not a secure fit, and he was aware of the fact.
‘He then attempted to remove the remains of the screw threaded ring (which holds the fuse in place) with a hammer and chisel.
‘At the first blow the clockwork in the fuse started to run.
‘Lieutenant Gidden, who had kept his head close to the fuse, heard the ticking, and made off as best he could, but as it was necessary to jump from sleeper to sleeper, with a ten foot drop below, there was little chance of escape.
‘As it happened the ‘gag’ held, and Lieutenant Gidden returned with a drill.
‘He succeeded in removing the ring, but then found it necessary to prise the fuse out with a chisel.
‘This he successfully did in spite of its dangerous condition.
‘Normally fuses are removed from a distance for fear of some anti-handling device.
‘This operation took six hours to complete.
‘It is considered that this case is in the very highest category of courage and devotion to duty.’
He was presented with his George Cross by King George VI at Buckingham Palace in July 1942.
Despite advancing to Lieutenant-Commander, he carried on bomb disposal operations in Britain and then cleared mines in the Scheldt channel in the Netherlands in November 1944.
His final wartime role was at the reserve training establishment HMS President.
Post-conflict, he returned to the family saddlery firm, W & H Gidden of Mayfair.
But he died suddenly aged 51 in 1961.
Lieutenant Gidden’s medal group, which has been consigned from the extensive medal collection of the late Jason Pilalas, consists of the George Cross; The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, OBE (Military); George Medal; 1939-45 Star; France and Germany Star; Defence and War Medals 1939-45; Coronation 1953.
The sale takes place on March 11.
