b. 05/11/1886 Sunderland. d. 09/08/1967 Sedgefield, County Durham.
DATE OF EM ACTION: 19/04/1929 Murton Colliery, County Durham.
Joseph Wilson MM EM
Joseph was born on 5th November 1886 the only son of George and Mary Jane Wilson (nee Johnson) and grew up in Monkwearmouth, near Sunderland. Tragically his mother died when he was just 4 and he was raised by his father and his grandparents. His father remarried and the rest of his childhood was spent with his father and his stepmother. He became a coal miner and on 17th October 1908 he married Vashti Blackwell at Sunderland Registry Office. Joseph had begun work at Murton Colliery, and he and Vashti lived near the mine. They had two daughters, Lilian and Mary and due to financial issues they moved in with Vashti’s parents in Salisbury Place, Murton. Joseph and Vashti had a son, George in 1913, though he sadly died in 1915, whilst Joseph was serving on the Western Front with the Royal Field Artillery. Joseph was awarded the Military Medal for bravery in World War I. Whilst he was on leave, his wife gave birth to their third daughter Esther. After the war he returned to Murton Colliery and was awarded the Edward Medal for his rescue on 19th April 1929. He received his medal from King George V on 6th March 1930 at Buckingham Palace. Joseph died in hospital in Sedgefield on 9th August 1967 aged 81.
EM CITATION:
On the 19th of April a fall occurred at the Murton Colliery of the South Hetton Coal Company which resulted in the complete burial of one man Ralph Chisholm and the partial burial of another David Stevenson. Joseph Wilson heard the fall and immediately hurried to the place and protected Stevenson from further falls by standing over him and shielding him with his body, while others attempted to free the imprisoned man. Stevenson was liberated after 35 minutes, during which the whole roof in the locality was “working” and further falls were continually taking place. When the rescue operations were completed, Wilson himself was buried above the knees and unable to move. Ralph Chisholm was unfortunately found to have died from suffocation.
Wilson’s action an interposing his body between the falling debris and the imprisoned man almost certainly saved Stevenson’s life, and gravely endangered his own.
BURIAL LOCATION: UNKNOWN.
LOCATION OF MEDAL: UNKNOWN.
