NELLIE'S MBE
Local Heroism
By Richard Beckett
In 1919, Nellie Payne was awarded the MBE for courage in helping to extinguish a burning bomb stack in the Army Ordnance Depot which was situated in the old Heighton cement Works, (where the Three Ponds Caravan site is now). I looked at the 1911 census returns and found two Nellie Payne's resident in this area, both of whom could have been the one in question. The first one lived in Read's cottages on Denton Island, (she would have been 17 years old in 1919), and the second one, who lived in Sth Heighton, would have been 23 in 1919. Of these two therefore the second one seems the most likely to have been the one involved.
Is anyone able to verify which Nellie it was and if so are there any relatives or descendants still alive who know more details of the incident, (maybe someone has newspaper cuttings) or where the Medal is now. If there are, would you be prepared to let Newhaven Museum have copies of any written details, and maybe a photograph of the Medal?