A SECOND WORLD WAR MILITARY MEDAL

A SECOND WORLD WAR MILITARY MEDAL to Corporal S Hart DLI. A Stretcher Bearer who during the Battle for the Mareth Line saved countless lives. GVI Military Medal correctly impressed 4461325 A Cpl S Hart Durh L I Condition EF. Septimus Hart was born on 27th October 1915 in South Shields. In civilian life, he worked as a 'Builders Labourer in Heavy Industry'. A member of the 8th Bn Durham Light Infantry. He won the Military Medal while serving as a Stretcher Bearer during the attack on the Mareth Line in Tunisia in 1943. The original citation being; ' In the attack on the Mareth Line on 20th March 1943, Cpl Hart was a stretcher-bearer Corporal with 'A' Company advancing through a wadi to attack an enemy position. Extremely heavy enemy artillery, mortar and MG fire was brought to bear on the Company. Heavy casualties occurred, amongst which the reserve platoon of the company was almost entirely disabled. Cpl Hart organised and led the work of his stretcher bears with such efficiency that although several of his men had been put out of action, he was mainly responsible for maintaining clearance of casualties for the Company, and also the two other companies who were simultaneously passing through the wadi, and whose stretcher bears had become casualties. His conduct throughout was directly responsible for saving a very large number of our own troops who, having become casualties, were in great danger of being killed by artillery fire'. The awarded was announced in the London Gazette on 15th June 1943. Septimus survived the war and passed away in South Shields in 1999