MENTIONED IN DISPATCHES
Pte Mahon of The Royal Scots (The Royal Regt)
The following is an extract taken from the London Gazette as it appeared in the 13th June 1957 edition.
On 14th December 1956, Pte Mahon of The Royal Scots (The Royal Regt) was one of six soldiers, travelling in the rear of a truck, on mobile patrol duty on the north side of Arab Town in Port Said. Whilst the patrol was passing along Rue Gamen Tawfiki an Egyptian youth threw a No.36 grenade at the vehicle in which they were travelling. The grenade struck the soldier sitting next to Pte Mahon and fell on to the floor of the vehicle rolling under Pte Mahon’s feet.
See the fuse burning, and realising the immediate danger to all occupants of
the vehicle, Pte Mahon bent down to pick it up. At this moment the vehicle accelerated
and the grenade rolled away from his grasp across the floor of the truck. Realising
that the fuse was nearly spent and that the grenade
would explode at any moment, Pte Mahon, displaying complete disregard for his
own personal safety, reached forward a second time and seized the grenade in
his hand. He then turned round and threw it out of the vehicle in the direction
from which it had come. On landing in the road the grenade exploded immediately,
injuring some Egyptians standing there but causing no injury to any member of
the patrol.
Throughout this incident Pte Mahon remained completely calm and level headed. His prompt, determined and courageous action, in circumstances which might well have resulted in panic, undoubtedly saved the lives of all the occupants of his vehicle.
Pte Francis Mahon of The Royal Scots (The Royal Regiment) was awarded the British
Empire Medal.