b. 01/09/1897 Cardiff, Wales. d. 1st Quarter 1959 Droxford, Hampshire.
DATE OF AM ACTION: 31/08/1921 Moghal Kot, India.
George Bland was born in Cardiff, Wales on 1st September 1897. It is believed his family was of wealthy means as by the time of the 1911 Census, George was attending Queens College Public School in Taunton, Somerset. He was commissioned on 30th January 1916, and was awarded the Military Cross (London Gazette 25th August 1917). He was serving with the 105 Mahratta Light Infantry of the Indian Army. He retired from the Army shortly after his Albert Medal action on 11th January 1923.
George was recalled for service in World War II, and served in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, attaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He was awarded the following campaign medals: Defence Medal 1939-45, War Medal 1939-45, and Africa Star. After the war, he moved to the South Coast, where he ran Durley Post Office, near Southampton, with his wife. He died in 1959.
AM CITATION:
On the 31st August, 1921, at Moghal Kot, a Stokes Mortar shell fused prematurely, and Captain Bland, with great presence of mind and disregard for his own safety—for a few seconds only would elapse before the shell exploded—at once rushed forward and threw the shell over the parapet. But for his courageous action there would in all probability have been loss of life, and it is unlikely that casualties would ha,ve been confined to the Trench Mortar Section, for many Officers and men were in the near vicinity.
BURIAL LOCATION: UNKNOWN.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: PRIVATELY HELD.
