b. ? d. ?
DATE OF EM ACTION: 04/08/1912 Barrow in Furness, Cumberland.
Little is known about the life of steelworker Harry Parsons other than the incident on 4th August 1912. Parsons, together with the three other men, was present at an investiture by King George V at Buckingham Palace in December 1912, when he and the others were presented with their awards. All four men were also presented with gold watches, suitably inscribed, at a ceremony in the Banquet Hall at Barrow Town Hall on 17 November 1912. The presentations were made by the Mayor, the watches having been given by the Barrow Hematite Steel Company in recognition of their bravery.
EM CITATION:
On the 4th August 1912, a gas flue, which is a thousand yards long and 6 feet in diameter, was in process of cleaning at the Barrow Hematite Steel Works, when a workman engaged in the operation entered the tube contrary to orders to recover a broken rake. He was immediately overcome by the gas, as were also two fellow workmen, William Ackred and George Bagnall, who went to his assistance. Harry Parsons twice entered the flue at great risk to his life, and, with the help of Ernest Cannell, Thomas Evans and John Robinson, succeeded in bringing out the three men, who had been overcome and who all unhappily lost their lives.
BURIAL LOCATION: UNKNOWN.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: UNKNOWN.
