George Cross medal to be sold off

Leslie Owen Fox twice tunnelled through burning wreckage

A George Cross medal awarded to a carpenter who rescued two people from a burning house is expected to fetch up to £30,000 when it is auctioned off.

Leslie Owen Fox was serving with West Kensington Heavy Rescue Squad in London in WWII when he saved the two victims.

He tunnelled through the wreckage of a bombed building in Fulham in 1944.

Only 106 George Cross medals were issued between 1940 and 1947, said Charterhouse auctioneers in Dorset, where it will be sold on 13 June.

"My late father was a great collector of militaria, especially medals," said Richard Bromell, of Charterhouse, in Sherborne.

"As a small child I was dragged around numerous shops and fairs and when the vendor asked me to look at a couple of medals his grandfather won in the Second World War you can imagine my excitement when he pulled out the George Cross."

The George Cross is the highest gallantry award for civilians as well as members of the armed forces for acts of great heroism or courage in circumstances of extreme danger.

It ranks second only to the Victoria Cross.