Reis Lee Leming GM (6 November 1930 – 5 November 2012) was an American airman who was awarded the British

George Medal The George Medal (GM), instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI,''British Gallantry Medals'' (Abbott and Tamplin), p. 138 is a decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for gallantry, typically ...

for his efforts in rescuing people during the

North Sea flood of 1953 The 1953 North Sea flood () was a major flood caused by a heavy storm surge that struck the Netherlands, north-west Belgium, England and Scotland. Most sea defences facing the surge were overwhelmed, resulting in extensive flooding. The ...

The rescue

On the night of 31 January 1953 the sea defences of

Hunstanton Hunstanton (sometimes pronounced ) is a seaside resort, seaside town in Norfolk, England, which had a population of 4,229 at the 2011 Census. It faces west across The Wash. Hunstanton lies 102 miles (164 km) north-north-east of London an ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, were overwhelmed by a

storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the ...

, with up to of seawater flooding the low-lying South Beach area. Many U.S. service families were quartered there, and Leming's unit, the 67th Air Rescue Squadron, based at nearby RAF Sculthorpe, were mobilised to assist. Leming, a 22-year-old Airman 2nd Class serving as an Aerial Gunner, could not swim, but dressed in a survival suit and dragging an inflatable raft, waded through the flood waters in the darkness and rescued 27 people before collapsing from exhaustion and

hypothermia Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe ...

. Leming returned to the USA the year after the flood. Before that, when he announced his engagement (to Mary Ramsay) the town insisted on hosting the wedding. The ceremony was held in June 1953 and was attended by the mayor and other leading figures of the town whilst a large crowd gathered outside. At a time sugar was still rationed in England local women pooled their rations to bake Leming a huge wedding cake and the town presented him with a set of Doulton china. Since that time Leming returned to the town on several occasions, in 1993 attended the memorial service for the disaster and was presented to the

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

and

Queen Mother A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the monarch, reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also ...

at Sandringham.

Awards

In March 1953 Leming was awarded the Soldier's Medal by the United States, and on 15 April 1953 was presented with the

. He and Staff Sergeant Freeman A. Kilpatrick, who rescued 18 people that night, were the first Americans to receive the medal in peacetime. Presenting the medal, Sir David Maxwell Fyfe, the Home Secretary, said: The Queen, who did not present the medal personally as she was in mourning for Queen Mary at the time, thanked Leming at

Sandringham House Sandringham House is a country house in the parish of Sandringham, Norfolk, England. It is one of the royal residences of Charles III, whose grandfather, George VI, and great-grandfather, George V, both died there. The house stands in a est ...

in 1993. On 22 September 1956 Leming was invited to christen the ship '' Mayflower II'', a replica of the

Pilgrim The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as ...

ship, that was built at

Brixham Brixham is a coastal town and civil parish in the borough of Torbay in the county of Devon, in the south-west of England. As of the 2021 census, Brixham had a population of 16,825. It is one of the main three centres of the borough, along with ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

. On 13 July 2012 Hunstanton Town Council approved a motion to name the footway through the Esplanade Gardens "Reis Leming Way". As of November 2021, Reis Leming's George Medal and Soldier's Medal are on display at the RAF Sculthorpe Heritage Centre.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leming, Reis 1930 births 2012 deaths People from East St. Louis, Illinois Recipients of the George Medal Recipients of the Soldier's Medal United States Air Force airmen

The rescue

Awards

See also

References

External links