- SURNAME
Woods
- FORENAME
Stanley Gordon
- UNIT
Royal Army Ordnance Corps
- RANK
Warrant Officer First Class
- NUMBER
21125317
- AWARD
Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
- PLACE
Hong Kong 1968
- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
London Gazette 44584, 10th May 1968, Page 5443
CITATION:
Member of the Order of the British Empire : From late July to 16th October 1967, Warrant Officer Class I Woods, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, was engaged in disposing of bombs which were planted in large numbers by Communist terrorists throughout Hong Kong, and particularly in the densely populated urban areas.
In the first two months of this period, he carried out more than twenty tours of this very arduous duty, none of less than 12 hours, during which he dealt with nearly 300 devices. Not all were true bombs, but hoax bombs, deliberately designed to give the appearance of true ones, had to be handled with equal care; and, in this initial phase of the campaign, all devices had to be dismantled and their potential assessed, in order that the most effective means of disposal could be devised.
As reinforcement technicians arrived, Warrant Officer Woods took them out into the streets, carefully instructing them in the methods and procedures to be used.
The work on which he was engaged was made even more dangerous by the terrorist tactic of using a device, true or hoax, to attract a target in the form of a bomb disposal team and then throwing down further bombs from nearby buildings.
A number of persons, military, police and civilian, were killed during this campaign, and a large number were injured. Despite this, Warrant Officer Woods repeatedly exposed himself to danger, until he himself was injured while dealing with a device on 16th October. His gallant and devoted conduct, which was in the highest traditions of the Service, was an inspiration to his colleagues and gained the admiration of all who were associated with him in this highly dangerous and demanding work.
In the first two months of this period, he carried out more than twenty tours of this very arduous duty, none of less than 12 hours, during which he dealt with nearly 300 devices. Not all were true bombs, but hoax bombs, deliberately designed to give the appearance of true ones, had to be handled with equal care; and, in this initial phase of the campaign, all devices had to be dismantled and their potential assessed, in order that the most effective means of disposal could be devised.
As reinforcement technicians arrived, Warrant Officer Woods took them out into the streets, carefully instructing them in the methods and procedures to be used.
The work on which he was engaged was made even more dangerous by the terrorist tactic of using a device, true or hoax, to attract a target in the form of a bomb disposal team and then throwing down further bombs from nearby buildings.
A number of persons, military, police and civilian, were killed during this campaign, and a large number were injured. Despite this, Warrant Officer Woods repeatedly exposed himself to danger, until he himself was injured while dealing with a device on 16th October. His gallant and devoted conduct, which was in the highest traditions of the Service, was an inspiration to his colleagues and gained the admiration of all who were associated with him in this highly dangerous and demanding work.
WEB LINKS:
https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/44584/supplement/5443NATIONAL ARCHIVES:
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D7637036
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