George Gosse
| George Gosse | |
|---|---|
 Lieutenant George Gosse c.1945 | |
| Born |
16 February 1912 Harvey, Western Australia |
| Died |
31 December 1964 (aged 52) Maslin Beach, South Australia |
| Allegiance | Australia |
| Service/ | Royal Australian Navy |
| Years of service |
1926–33 1940–46 |
| Rank | Lieutenant Commander |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards | George Cross |
George Gosse, GC (16 February 1912 – 31 December 1964) was a mine clearance specialist in the Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve (RANVR) during the Second World War. He was awarded the George Cross for the heroism he displayed between 8 May and 19 May 1945 in Bremen Harbour in Germany. His citation was published in the London Gazette on 30 April 1946.[1]
Gosse was a grandson of the explorer William Gosse and a nephew of the businessman James Hay Gosse. His first cousin was Mary Downer, who married Sir Alick Downer and was the mother of Alexander Downer.[2]
Divers searching the Undersee Hafen had reported a sighting of what appeared to be a new form of mine and, on 8 May, Gosse dived and verified that it was a G.D. pressure mine known as the 'oyster'. Gosse was given the task of recovering the device intact and dived the next day to remove the primer, with improvised tools, rendering the device safe. During this procedure he heard a loud noise which, upon examination after the mine was brought to land, was found to have been caused by the detonator firing as the primer was removed. He later defused two similar mines which were posing a danger to shipping, on both occasions the detonator fired before the mine reached the surface.
The George Gosse ward at the former Repatriation General Hospital, Hollywood has been named in his honour.
References
- ↑ "George Cross". Digger History. Archived from the original on 9 November 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-18.
- ↑ I. McL. Crawford, 'Gosse, George (1912–1964)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 14, Melbourne University Press, 1996, pp 300–301.
