The New Zealand Bravery Decoration, NZBD, Part 1, A to F

in #history6 years ago

Instituted in 1999 as part of a Government move to
replace British awards for gallantry with distinctive
New Zealand awards.

The New Zealand gallantry decoration replaced
The Queen’s Gallantry Medal,
The Air Force Cross and
The Air Force Medal.

Awarded for

“acts of exceptional bravery in situations of danger”

NZBD

Craig David BENNETT 14 October 2006
Constable NZP

Citation

On 7 May 2005 at about 7.15 a.m., Constable Bennett was off duty and driving past 36 Cooper Street, in Dunedin, when he noticed that the house was on fire.

He was advised by local residents that two children were still in the house and was shown their bedroom window.

The room was thick with smoke and he could not see inside.

Constable Bennett broke the glass, reached inside and could feel a child’s body.

He and a neighbour then broke the glass of a larger window and Constable Bennett put his upper body through the opening and dragged a boy to the window, where he handed him to two neighbours waiting outside.

He then went back into the room, using a ground sheet to cover his mouth and nose, and had to feel his way around inside, as there was no visibility.

Hearing a child moan, he moved towards the noise and located a girl wedged between a bed and the wall. He wrapped the child in the ground sheet, carried her to the window and handed her to a neighbour waiting outside.

He was then told that the children’s mother was also still inside.

He left the house and went to a rear window and looked into another room full of smoke.

Upon smashing the window, moaning could be heard from inside.

Constable Bennett reached in and managed to drag a woman to the edge of the room before he was overcome by smoke.

Feeling sick and dizzy, and with the woman still inside the room, he returned to his vehicle where he got a mask so he could go inside to rescue her.

At this point, the Fire Brigade arrived, and Constable Bennett took a fireman to the window.

The fireman entered, while Constable Bennett reached in from outside, and together they were able to lift the woman out through the window.

By his exceptional bravery, Constable Bennett was able to effect the rescue of three people from the blazing building.

info From

Ngakina Jane BERTRAND 14 Oct 2005
Sgt NZP

Citation

On 17 and 18 January 2005, there were riots at Yandina in the Solomon Islands during an industrial dispute.

At the time of the riots, Sergeant Bertrand was a police constable with the acting rank of Senior Sergeant.

On the first day (17 January), a group of protesters attempted to storm the police boat tying up at the wharf.

Constable Bertrand led a small number of Royal Solomon Islands police officers to deal with this attack.

She and her small group were heavily outnumbered but, despite being assaulted by a number of protesters, she was able to stand her ground and make an arrest while waiting for back-up.

After the prisoner had been moved to the police station, the crowd attempted to storm the building to release the man and a two-hour struggle ensued before the mob was forced away.

During the struggle, a number of women and children were pushed to the front of the crowd to prevent the police using pepper spray or baton charges to disperse them.

With the young children in the front line, some of the men at the rear began using slingshots to fire stones at the police, some of which were large and thrown with such force they travelled more than 100 metres.

Constable Bertrand took the risk of placing herself at the front to protect the children and calling upon those slinging stones to cease their activities.

Her positive action and the respect the local population had for her encouraged the rock throwers to stop.

The police presence at this incident did not have protective equipment available to them.

The next day (18 January), some 50 people attacked police lines in front of a ship that had arrived to load the local copra crop.

Some of the crowd retreated leaving the ground open again for rocks to be thrown by slingshot at the police.

Despite being struck on the leg by a rock, and receiving a significant injury, Constable Bertrand took a team of Royal Solomon Island police officers to the rear of the crowd in an attempt to deter the stone throwers and arrest those who continued to assault the police lines.

Her actions played a major part in temporarily restoring order.

A little later, another group of about 50 strikers moved to the rear of the copra company’s yard, destroyed the boundary fence and began stoning the workers inside.

The police reserve group went to confront them and Constable Bertrand took the police vehicle from the police station and acted as a collection point for prisoners and the injured.

The vehicle immediately came under attack, with the entire crowd turning against the police.

Over 400 people were now attacking the police positions. Constable Bertrand retreated to the police station and despite the risk, exposed herself to a hail of rocks in order to move to safety a group of children who had been sitting nearby.

She then managed to get some protective equipment and led a Royal Solomon Island police team out to disperse the attackers.

After 90 minutes of sustained action, the attackers were dispersed and order was restored. In a subsequent clean-up, more than 200 rocks were removed from the back lawn of the police station.

Constable Bertrand distinguished herself with a number of acts of bravery during this very dangerous period.

Info From

Allan Donald CANTLEY 23 October 1999
Sgt NZP

Citation:

At Morrinsville, on 29 July 1993, a mentally deranged man with a number of explosive devices strapped to his body, entered the Police Station.

He held both the Police and three members of the public hostage and threatened to detonate bombs attached to his body.

Sergeant Cantley entered the building and confronted the man and was able to facilitate most of the hostages’ escapes, including his own.

Sergeant Cantley then re-entered the building in an attempt to release the remaining hostage and overpower the man.

Together with two other members of the Police he was able to achieve the release of the hostage but during this, another Police Constable was wounded and the offender was fatally shot by Police.

Throughout the incident, Sergeant Cantley showed complete disregard for his own safety.

Inf From

Christopher Michael CREAN 23 October 1999
[Deceased]

Citation:

On 13 March 1996 Mr Crean witnessed a confrontation between two gangs in the New Plymouth suburb of Marfell where he lived.

A young man was severely beaten in front of a number of people.

Mr Crean was the only witness to this brutal assault who was prepared to testify against the assailants.

Despite the enormous intimidation, including verbal death threats made by gang members at the Court, Mr Crean did not waver and he insisted on giving evidence against the gang members involved.

His performance of his civic duty encouraged other witnesses to come forward, as a result of which gang activity in the area was curtailed and successful prosecution of two of the three defendants ensued.

However, on 6 October 1996, Mr Crean, then aged 27, answering a knock at the front door of his home, was gunned down in the presence of his wife and young children.

Four members of a gang are now serving life sentences for his murder.

Mr Crean’s performance of his civic duty undoubtedly placed his life in danger, with subsequent tragic consequences.

Info From

Dr. Bryce CURRAN 23 June 2014

Citation

On 22 February 2011, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Christchurch, causing the collapse of the Pyne Gould Corporation building, trapping around 30 people inside.

Dr Bryce Curran, an anaesthetist from Christchurch Hospital, was sent to provide medical assistance at the Pyne Gould Corporation building.

He made several forays into the building to administer morphine to trapped victims.

He then joined urologist Dr Lydia Johns-Putra, a firefighter and a Police officer in a rescue operation to free a man who was trapped inside the building.

The man was in danger of bleeding to death with his legs pinned between a concrete pillar and a collapsed floor section.

There was no way to remove the concrete safely and a decision was made to amputate both of his legs.

Dr Curran administered morphine and ketamine to provide anaesthesia and tourniquets were applied to the man’s legs.

Dr Johns-Putra then began the amputation procedure lit by torches and using a hacksaw and penknife.

She grew fatigued from the effort of operating the saw in a confined space and passed the hacksaw to Dr Curran who took turns with the Police officer and firefighter in completing the operation.

An aftershock occurred during the operation.

The man was loaded onto a tarpaulin and escorted to ambulance staff waiting outside the building.

Dr Curran rode with the man in the ambulance and assisted in resuscitating him en route to the hospital.

Dr Bryce Curran and the rescue team carried out a lengthy operation with minimal equipment in a confined, unstable and dark space whilst under the constant threat of aftershocks.

The man survived due to their efforts.

Info From

Pes Sia’atoutai FA’AUI 14 October 2006

Citation

On the afternoon of 28 November 2005, Pes Sia’atoutai Fa’aui, an environmental officer employed by the Waitakere City Council, was on duty in Railside Avenue, Henderson.

Nearby, a man with a knife had stabbed and injured a sport shop owner, who had to flee his shop after receiving stab injuries to his back, stomach, arm and hand.

The offender then crossed the road and fatally stabbed a 65-year-old man who was getting into his car.

A police officer arrived on the scene and the offender advanced on him with the knife.

The police officer repeatedly called on the man to stop but he continued to advance even after being shot three times from five shots fired at him by the officer.

Witnesses describe the man increasing the determination of his advance on the police officer, who was retreating backwards.

As the police officer was turning to evade his attacker, Mr Fa’aui tackled the offender from behind, hitting him with his right shoulder into his back, while bringing his right arm around his front.

In doing so, he received deep cuts to a number of his fingers, which had come into contact with the knife.

The tackle succeeded in knocking the offender to the ground, after which two other police officers who had just arrived on the scene were able to subdue and handcuff him.

Mr Fa’aui’s action prevented any further possibility of injury or death to others in the vicinity, including the police officer who had originally confronted the offender as well as the offender himself.

Mr Fa’aui’s act of exceptional bravery led to the arrest of a dangerous offender and possibly saved a police officer from serious injury.

Info From

Christopher Mark FOOT 1 August 2016

Citation

In Dunedin, on the evening of 15 January 2014, Mr Chris Foot and his wife had gone to bed and were watching television when they both heard a loud commotion coming from outside their house.

Mr Foot stepped out onto their balcony to investigate the disturbance and saw his neighbour running to their house in a hysterical state, screaming for help.

The neighbour indicated that her estranged husband, who had a protection order in force against him, had forcibly entered their house and had attempted to kill her with a gun.

She had been able to escape, but her two children, a boy aged nine years and a daughter aged six years still remained in the house.

Mr Foot immediately ran, barefoot, to the house next door with the intent of confronting the man.

Mr Foot approached the house and knocked on the glass front door, yelling to get the man’s attention.

The armed man then walked down the hallway to the front door, pointing a shotgun directly at Mr Foot.

Mr Foot attempted to reason with the man, demanding that he stop pointing the gun at him and allow the children to safely leave the house.

Without warning the man fired his shotgun at Mr Foot but stumbled causing the blast to hit the top of the front door.

Mr Foot retreated to his house to get footwear, believing he would have to kick the front door down to enter the house and get the children out.

As he was returning to his home he heard another shotgun blast.

After getting his boots, Mr Foot returned to the house and entered via a side entrance.

He called out to the man, but heard no response.

He crept through the house looking for the man, and found him lying on the bed in the main bedroom with a shotgun wound to his chest and the weapon at his side.

Mr Foot then discovered the bodies of the children, who had been killed in their bedrooms.

Mr Foot, without hesitation and with an awareness of the danger posed by his neighbour’s estranged husband, placed himself at risk in an attempt to defuse a hostile situation and prevent the armed and agitated man from harming his neighbour’s children.

Info From

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