6th February 2012, aged 81
A bomb disposal expert and Falklands veteran awarded the George Medal (GM) for bravery, Major Stephen Hambrook has died aged 81. He lost his left leg below the knee after stepping on a landmine after he had put his life on the line hundreds of times whilst defusing explosive devices across the globe.
In 1982 he was deployed to the Falkland Islands to help clear unexploded bombs and mines left after the conflict. He stepped on a mine in an area which had previously been declared safe. Despite his injuries he continued to serve in the Royal Engineers (RE) for a further 10 years and was given numerous awards including a Commander in Chief Commendation for Bravery and being recognised as “Army Man of the Year”.
He was decorated with the award of a George Medal, the second highest civilian award, in 1970 after defusing a World War II bomb discovered in London and in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 1991 he was made a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) Military Division for his work in the Army.
On October 1st 1969 Major Hambrook, at that time a Sergeant Major, was part of a RE team of disposal experts sent to a building site in Camden following the discovery of a complex Type C Parachute Mine. Nine feet long and packed with more than 1,500lb of explosives it was capable of devastating entire streets in the area. After evacuating the civilian populace the team exposed the mine which was found to be in good condition. With a complex fuse system and a triggering device set for 17 seconds, which had jammed after 7 seconds, should the clock restart they would have 3 seconds to attempt to “choke off” the fuse and 7 seconds to get clear. Stephen and a colleague removed the filling plate and set about “steaming out” the explosive which took them over 12 hours. In recognition of his bravery, not only was he awarded the GM, a block of flats built on the site was named after him and the BBC featured the event in a program called “Seven Seconds to Run”.
After retiring from the RE he devoted much of his time to voluntary work for Blesma – The Limbless Veterans serving for many years as Chairman of the Blesma South East Area as he believed that while soldiers killed in conflict were rightly recognised, those that were maimed tended to be overlooked. On two occasions he was awarded the Frankland Moore Rosebowl by the Association for his welfare work with them. Each year he would attend the National Remembrance Parade at The Cenotaph with Blesma and was rightly proud to be at the head of their contingent last year alongside two younger Members injured in Afghanistan.
Within his local community in Tyler Hill near Canterbury he became a Parish Councillor, Chairman of Governors at a local school, Treasurer of the Tyler Hill Memorial Hall, Chairman of the Kent Rural Communities Committee and Secretary of the Kent Association of Parish Councils’ Executive Committee. All of which led to him being recognised last year with a Kent Association of Local Councils Community Award.
After suffering with circulatory problems for many years he lost his right leg below knee in 2012.
He recently suffered a fall in which he broke his hip that sadly hastened his decline and he passed away on Friday 6th February at his home in Kent with his family by his side.