Violet Spencer

Violet Spencer drove an ambulance through the London Blitz, navigating burning streets and collapsed buildings to rescue the injured. On the night of 29 December 1940 — the Second Great Fire of London — she made fourteen separate trips through the inferno around St Paul's Cathedral, evacuating casualties from the devastated area. She was awarded the George Medal for her extraordinary bravery that night. She continued driving throughout the V-1 and V-2 campaigns of 1944-45, rushing to bomb sites within minutes of impact. She was one of fewer than a hundred women to receive the George Medal during the war.