A young boy returns home from playing following a German air raid on London to find his home destroyed, and his mother, father and brother dead under the rubble.

The Civilian Defence Gallantry Awards records, 1940-9, have been digitised, detailing the courageous deeds of men, women and children at home

Last line of defence: Fireman carries young boy out of bomb raid rubble (

Image: Mirrorpix)

A brave 95-year-old woman and a lad of just 10 are among more than 5,000 ordinary people whose Second World War heroics go online on Friday.

The Civilian Defence Gallantry Awards records, 1940-9, have been digitised for the first time, detailing the courageous deeds of men, women and children on the Home Front.

The oldest person listed is Lillian Halle, 95, a “tiny, frail-looking woman” who put out a fire from an incendiary bomb in her house, tearing off burning wallpaper.

While the youngest is Royston Newman, 10, who acted as a human shield to protect his baby brother from bomb explosions after seeing a neighbour killed.

Ancestry.co.uk family history website has made the digital copies from original records at The National Archives, Kew, West London, ahead of Remembrance Sunday.

Heroism: Record for Royston Newman (

National/Ancestry)

Civilian Defence awards could be given to anyone supporting CD duties on the Home Front.

Some were air-raid wardens, first aiders and firewatchers, but many were ordinary civilians.

And the website said there were more than 200 child recipients who “showed maturity and gallantry above and beyond their years”.

One was David George Henry Moore, 12.

He saved his and a pal’s life when he “dragged Arthur William Hill under the desk which they shared just before the ceiling collapsed”.

Their school in Petworth, West Sussex, was hit by a bomb, which killed 22 boys.

By his presence of mind upon hearing the explosion he “undoubtedly saved his own life and that of Hill”.

And 11-year-old Raymond Hawley, who picked up a bomb that had crashed through his family’s roof using a pair of trousers before flinging it into his garden.

Deeds: Record for Elizabeth Everitt (

Image:

Ancestry)

Gallant adults who gave up their lives to save others include Albert Ernest Dolphin and Frederick Davies who were both awarded the George Cross, the highest award that can be awarded to a civilian, and second only to the Victoria Cross.

Dolphin “threw himself across a nurse” as a wall collapsed at South Eastern Hospital, New Cross, where he worked as a porter.

She had been trapped by a block of masonry after a bomb fell at the start of the Blitz in September, 1940.

He saved her “at the cost of his own life”.

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Anyone will be able to research the remarkable deeds of bravery and selflessness of Home Front members from 1940-9.

Each account reveals the names of those awarded medals for acts of bravery as well as their place of residence, date of birth and date of the award.

Military honour: George Cross

Ancestry’s Miriam Silverman said: “Each November, we quite rightly take the time to remember those who fought for Britain across the world, but it is equally important to commemorate the men, women and children left at home, many of who demonstrated extraordinary bravery on the Home Front.

“We should be proud of those who risked their lives to protect their family, friends and neighbours, going above and beyond what was expected of them.

“These records tell some of their stories in incredible detail, and with Remembrance Day just around the corner, now is the ideal time to get online and discover if your ancestors were among the courageous people included in this collection.”