Plaque ceremony to commemorate first George Cross hero to take place on Prince Street
A plaque to commemorate the bravery of the very first George Cross recipient, Thomas Alderson, will finally be installed where it belongs in Bridlington after decades of it being placed at various other sites in the town.
Local author Richard M Jones has been campaigning to install the plaque to the hero ARP warden, who rescued survivors from three bombing raid sites in Bridlington, including at the former site of the M&Co/TOFS shops at 12/13 Prince Street.
The memorial unveiling will take place at midday today (Thursday, August 20).
He said: “In August 1940, Bridlington was devastated by the bombing raids of the Luftwaffe and ARP warden Thomas Alderson led teams that rescued survivors from three bombing raid sites in Bridlington, the last one being where the former M&Co/TOFS shops were based, next to Goodwins.
“His dedication to rescue survivors earned him the new George Cross and he made Bridlington proud when he became the first person to receive this prestigious award.
“He was a very humble man by all accounts and often said that he wore the medal to represent his whole team as it was not just one person that saved lives in those terrible times.
“In 1995, a plaque was made to commemorate his bravery, but due to wranglings over health and safety, it ended up on the wall of Marks and Spencer (down the road from where the incident happened) and then for many years at the Royal British Legion’s Alderson House until it closed a few years back.
“Since then the plaque has been kept safe at Bridlington Library while it was decided what to do with it.
“Now thanks, to the owners of the building that now stands on the site of the bombed Foley's Cafe, a memorial unveiling will take place at midday on Thursday, August 20 where, after 86 years, the efforts of Thomas Alderson and his team will be officially recognised.”
Mr Jones thanked Jerome, who owns the building, for allowing the ceremony to take place, and the staff at Bridlington Library, who kept the plaque safe while he campaigned for the installation of the plaque.