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on duty, so she borrowed a bicycle and rushed out to take a message to the
Control Room amidst shrapnel from guns and falling bombs. She made repeated attempts to get through and several times had to dismount and fall flat on the ground for safety. Covered with dirt and grime she eventually delivered the message.
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that had lodged in the roof of a shop. When the roof gave way, she fell through and suffered minor injuries. Nonetheless, she then used a borrowed bicycle and made numerous attempts to deliver a message to the control room, one and a quarter miles away, avoiding bombs and shrapnel. She made repeated
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Miss Bick and her father then returned to the A.R.P. Post. Almost immediately high explosive bombs began to fall and a terrific explosion nearly shook them off their feet. They discovered that a bomb had destroyed two houses opposite and another one nearby. The
Wardens attached to the Post were all
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and bucket of water. The pump proved to be out of order, but nothing daunted she proceeded to splash the water with her hands and eventually put out the fire. While endeavouring to get out of the roof the charred rafters gave way and she fell through to the room below and sustained minor
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During a very heavy air raid, Miss Bick played an heroic part under nerve-racking conditions. At the outset when incendiary bombs began to fall she assisted her father, a Post Warden, to put out one of these, in the roof of a shop, with the aid of a
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Miss Bick, by acting as a means of communication between the
Wardens' Post to which she was attached and the Control Room, did very valuable work and released other Wardens for duty. She displayed outstanding courage and coolness in very trying
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commemorating Bick was erected at Lyng
Primary School, by the Lyng History Group, on 21 February 2002. The school was presented with a replica set of her medals in March 2002. Charity Bick Way in West Bromwich
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She made three journeys from her Post to the
Control Room, a distance of approximately one and a quarter miles, during the height of the raid, and made further journeys afterwards.
176:(ARP) service in that town. She volunteered at the office of a brick works near her home, delivering messages between ARP depots, by bicycle. Her father was an ARP post warden.
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At the age of 14, while living in Maud Road, West
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Charity Anne Bick was born on 19 December 1924 and educated at Lyng
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Aged 16, she was the youngest person ever to receive the GM. The medal was presented to her by
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trips, at least three of which occurred during the height of the raid.
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561:"Royal Air Force Long Service Good Conduct Medal (OMD 3829)"
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in a ceremony on 10 September 1941. She also received the
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512:"Defence Medal 1939–1945 (OMD 3827)"
382:"Youngest George Medal winner dies"
270:Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
592:. 11 February 2002. Archived from
272:. Her service number was 2109222.
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280:Later in her life, Bick lived in
534:"War Medal 1939–1945 (OMD 3828)"
730:Civil Defence Service personnel
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615:Deeley, Tony (25 April 2002).
181:1940 air raid on West Bromwich
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464:"George Medal GM (OMD 3826)"
353:. 21 January 1941. Case 330.
255:Women's Auxiliary Air Force
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294:Imperial War Museum North
253:Bick went on to join the
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624:Birmingham Evening Mail
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586:"Girl heroine honoured"
286:Alfred Reginald Thomson
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276:Final years and legacy
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563:. Imperial War Museum
536:. Imperial War Museum
514:. Imperial War Museum
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191:Bick was awarded the
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174:Air Raid Precautions
650:Imperial War Museum
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423:"Charity Anne Bick"
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489:"No. 35074"
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351:Home Office
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298:blue plaque
247:blue plaque
141:during the
96:Occupations
88:Nationality
694:Categories
336:References
308:52°30′52″N
82:, Scotland
53:1924-12-19
311:1°59′53″W
282:Inverness
236:War Medal
211:injuries.
179:During a
157:Biography
123:recipient
119:Youngest
80:Inverness
63:, England
630:14 March
91:English
261:as a
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296:. A
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