"Dolphin" HO250 4

By Group Officer

Account of Incident.

On the evening of September 7th a high explosive bomb fell on the kitchens of Ward Block 1 at the hospital, killing 4 nurses who were on the ground floor kitchen and injuring the night Sister and patients in the adjoining ward. Nurse Sole, who was in the ward kitchen on the first floor, was thrown through the collapsing floor on to the ground floor passage into the ground floor cover point. Together with other helpers, Albert Ernest Dolphin, one of the porters of the hospital, rushed to the site and found Nurse Sole pinioned by a block of masonry across her legs. While they were working the wall of the cover point was heard to crack and subsequently collapsed. The other workers had ample time to jump clear before the masonry fell, but Dolphin remained where he was and his body was subsequently found lying face downwards across Nurse Sole with his head towards the wall which collapsed on top of him. When found he was dead, but Nurse Sole, who was subsequently extricated, is still alive, through severely injured. There is no doubt that Dolphin, although aware that he wall was about to collapse, deliberately remained where he was and threw himself across Nurse Sole's body in an endeavour to protect he which he succeeded in doing at the cost of his own life.

Subject to [illegible] of GO