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Unsung teen hero who helped end the Second World War honoured
Telegraph ^ | March 15, 2024 | Telegraph reporters

Posted on 03/17/2024 11:28:58 AM PDT by beaversmom

A teenage cook whose heroics onboard a warship helped shorten the Second World War has been honoured in his home town after a public vote.

The regenerated centre of North Shields, North Tyneside, has been named after Thomas Brown, who was awarded the George Medal for helping to retrieve codebooks from a sinking German U-boat in October 1942.

The books were later used to crack the Enigma code by experts at Bletchley Park, enabling the British to decipher Nazi messages.

Two naval men died while searching the stricken submarine but Thomas, a 15-year-old civilian who lied about his age to work in the canteen on HMS Petard, survived and managed to save the books from the sea.

A teenage cook whose heroics onboard a warship helped shorten the Second World War has been honoured in his home town after a public vote.

The regenerated centre of North Shields, North Tyneside, has been named after Thomas Brown, who was awarded the George Medal for helping to retrieve codebooks from a sinking German U-boat in October 1942.

The books were later used to crack the Enigma code by experts at Bletchley Park, enabling the British to decipher Nazi messages.

Two naval men died while searching the stricken submarine but Thomas, a 15-year-old civilian who lied about his age to work in the canteen on HMS Petard, survived and managed to save the books from the sea.

(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...


TOPICS: History; Military/Veterans
KEYWORDS: britain; codebooks; enigma; epigraphyandlanguage; godsgravesglyphs; northshields; northtyneside; thomasbrown; ultrasecret; worldwareleven; ww2; wwii
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1 posted on 03/17/2024 11:28:58 AM PDT by beaversmom
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To: beaversmom

My hat is off to a very brave young man.


2 posted on 03/17/2024 11:38:57 AM PDT by Chewbarkah
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To: beaversmom

Huh? Wait a minute now. You mean he’s not black?


3 posted on 03/17/2024 11:40:27 AM PDT by sunny bonobo
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To: beaversmom

4 posted on 03/17/2024 11:40:40 AM PDT by Governor Dinwiddie (LORD, grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil.)
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To: beaversmom
They just don't make "teens" like they used to …

5 posted on 03/17/2024 11:41:37 AM PDT by Governor Dinwiddie (LORD, grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil.)
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To: beaversmom

I am seeing double.


6 posted on 03/17/2024 11:43:05 AM PDT by linMcHlp
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To: beaversmom

7 posted on 03/17/2024 11:43:45 AM PDT by Chode (there is no fall back position, there's no rally point, there is no LZ... we're on our own. #FJB)
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To: sunny bonobo
#3: "Huh? Wait a minute now. You mean he’s not black?"

Patience. Just wait a year or two.

8 posted on 03/17/2024 11:54:18 AM PDT by Governor Dinwiddie (LORD, grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil.)
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To: sunny bonobo

Wait for the movie by Dizzyland, he’ll be a black LGBQ tran.


9 posted on 03/17/2024 11:59:41 AM PDT by SkyDancer (~A Bizjet Is Nothing But An Executive Mailing Tube ~)
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To: SkyDancer

Hollywood already made a movie and made Matthew McConaughey and the Americans the heroes. England was not happy about that.


10 posted on 03/17/2024 12:03:58 PM PDT by x
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To: beaversmom
Thomas was awarded the George Medal in 1945 but died in a house fire before he could receive the honour.

survived a sinking German U-boat, but died in a common house fire at the age of 18

11 posted on 03/17/2024 12:12:50 PM PDT by PGR88
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To: linMcHlp
"..I am seeing double.."

Sometimes I think they're just in such a hurry to get "the scoop" they can't be bothered to "Preview" it. πŸ™„πŸ˜‚

That aside. Great story.

12 posted on 03/17/2024 12:22:55 PM PDT by CopperTop (Outside the wire it's just us chickens. Dig?)
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To: PGR88
Tommy Brown himself sadly died in 1945 in another act of heroism, trying to save his youngest sisters from their burning home.

Source: The Guardian

You will find it in the 1st paragraph following this picture:

Second world war: Women painting a submarine

Tommy's GM and medals are now safely in the North East, as his surviving brothers and sisters generously donated them to the NAAFI, whose headquarters are in Darlington. Tommy Brown himself sadly died in 1945 in another act of heroism, trying to save his youngest sisters from their burning home.

13 posted on 03/17/2024 12:35:56 PM PDT by Robert DeLong
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To: beaversmom

Quite a fifteen-year-old. Bravo young man!


14 posted on 03/17/2024 12:41:09 PM PDT by Rummyfan (In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man.c)
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To: beaversmom

October 1942.

1942 was a horrid year of losses in the Battle of the Atlantic.

Thanks in large part to this brave lad, Doenitz had to recall all U-boats from the north Atlantic in May 43.


15 posted on 03/17/2024 12:54:21 PM PDT by Jacquerie (ArticleVBlog.com)
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To: Jacquerie

Wow. Just think of that !


16 posted on 03/17/2024 1:05:28 PM PDT by Steely Tom ([Voter Fraud] == [Civil War])
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To: linMcHlp

(I am seeing double)

Nonsense.

Everything is just fine.

(I am seeing double)

Nonsense.

Everything is just fine.


17 posted on 03/17/2024 1:12:28 PM PDT by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the Days of Lot; They did Eat, They Drank, They Bought, They Sold ......)
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To: sunny bonobo

He was a black lesbian transgender whose pronouns were “they” and “them”...


18 posted on 03/17/2024 1:42:34 PM PDT by kiryandil (what Krynky doink?)
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To: CopperTop

Preview? Ain’t nobody got time for that.


19 posted on 03/17/2024 1:54:23 PM PDT by HartleyMBaldwin
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To: beaversmom
This story is part of the myth the British concocted to cover the fact that Enigma system had already been broken by the Poles before the war started. Bletchley Park did little more than lay the icing on the cake and take credit for baking it.

A fairly complete account is found in "Last Hope Island" by Lynne Olson, pub. 2017 Random House.

20 posted on 03/17/2024 2:32:52 PM PDT by Chad C. Mulligan
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