BLITZ SPIRIT
BETTY QUINN
THE TEENAGE AMBULANCE CADET FROM COVENTRY WHO WAS AWARDED THE GEORGE MEDAL
A 17-year old stores clerk from Coventry, Quinn was also a volunteer St John Ambulance cadet. On 19 October 1940, she was administering first aid at an ARP post when incendiary bombs suddenly fell nearby in the city. The Coventry Standard newspaper reported that Quinn helped people without any assistance, which initially included assisting a man into a shelter. However, the situation escalated, “An Anderson shelter received a direct hit and she ran through a rain of bombs and commenced digging with a spade.”
Quinn dug out seven people and attended to their injuries before returning to the ARP post to assist distressed people. She remained with the
