Lieutenant Commander M.M. Bright of the Royal Navy, believed to be the only Jew to attain “lower deck” rank, has been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, it was announced today. The citation said he “set an example of wholehearted devotion to duty.”
Bright is former president of a lodge of the Order Achei Brith Shield of Abraham. He joined the navy as a boy and fought at Gallipoli and Akaba. He was recalled from the retired list at the outbreak of the war and given command of a minesweeper flotilla, after which he was appointed to a position in the Admiralty.
The well-known East End physician, Dr. Hannah Billig, sister of Lewis Billig, Hebrew University lecturer who was killed during the Palestine disorders, has been awarded the George Medal for exceptional bravery during the Blitzkrieg while on duty as shelter doctor in a dockside shelter. Solomon Wolfson, East End A.R.P. district warden, has received the George medal for rescuing injured persons from a blazing building while more bombs were falling.
Special Constable Emmanuel Graham is the first Birmingham Jew to receive an award for bravery during air raids, having been awarded the George Medal for driving a car regularly during air raids through streets practically impassable because of craters, debris and fires and assisting in rescue work in dangerous areas.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
