A Royal Engineers Operation Grapeshot Military Medal group o...

Hammer

£1,500

A Royal Engineers Operation Grapeshot Military Medal group of six to 5381776 L. SJT. S.A. COAKER R.E. The Military Medal, 1939-1945, Africa and Italy Stars, the Defence and 1939-1945 War Medals mounted for wear. Sidney Arthur Coaker (1919-1999), Corps of Royal Engineers (Oxford), MM gazetted 18/10/1945 in recognition of gallant and distinguished service in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy.

CITATION: On the afternoon  of 4 April, 1945 Cpl. Coaker was sent over to the enemy bank of the Reno to clear a thickly-sown area of mines from a route required for the 56th (London) Division attack on the night of 5-6 April. 
This route passed through the enemy forward defence lines, and the approach was covered by light machine-gun posts dug in to the bank. With great patience he removed all types of mines up to a point approximately 70 yards from the enemy post, although the area was being fired on from this post.
At this stage he was in front of our own forward defence lines, and had completed the task he had been set, but noticing a thickly-mined area immediately in front of him, and quite on his own initiative, crawled forward and disarmed all mines for a further distance of 20-30 yards, notwithstanding personal safety from the enemy fire which was being directed along the route, and the fact that the field contained all types of anti-personnel mines, with trip-wires and anti-tank mines.
Having completed this he removed all mines from the track and crawled back safely to provide most valuable information about the area, which was a most important factor in the Royal Engineers' plan.
Cpl. Coaker displayed an extraordinary degree of initiative, resourcefulness and disregard of danger which was beyond that called for by his normal duty and his work proved to be of the greatest value to the operation.