George Cross awarded to Sergeant Michael Willetts, 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, 1971

The George Cross (GC) is the highest British award for bravery when an enemy is not present. It is equal in status to the Victoria Cross (VC). The GC is a civil award so anyone can be decorated with it, from a schoolgirl to a fire-fighter. Many have also been awarded to members of the armed forces, including bomb disposal personnel.

This George Cross was posthumously awarded to Sergeant Michael Willetts who served with the 3rd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment in Northern Ireland. On 25 May 1971, a terrorist placed a suitcase bomb in the reception area of Springfield Road Police Station in Belfast. When the alarm was raised, Sergeant Willetts began to help people escape from the building. He held the door open for everyone and then stood in the doorway protecting those taking cover. Willetts was killed by the blast when the bomb went off. By shielding the men, women and children who were trying to leave the station, Sergeant Willetts had saved their lives at the cost of his own.