Simmon Latutin

Captain Simmon Latutin GC (25 July 1916 – 30 December 1944) was a British Army officer who was posthumously awarded the George Cross, the highest British (and Commonwealth) award for bravery out of combat. He won his award for the gallantry he showed in rescuing two comrades, and attempting to save a boy, from a blazing ammunition store on 29 December 1944 in Mogadishu, Somaliland.[1]

Simmon Latutin

GC
Born(1916-07-25)25 July 1916
Camden Town, London
Died30 December 1944(1944-12-30) (aged 28)
Mogadishu, Somaliland
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service1940–1944
RankCaptain
Service number242974
UnitSomalia Gendarmerie
Battles/warsWorld War II
Awards George Cross

Early life

Latutin[lower-alpha 1] was born in Camden Town, London on 25 July 1916, the son of Jewish immigrants, Morris and Frieda Latutin. His father was a Tailor. In the 1939 National Register he is living with his parents in the St Pancras district of London, his occupation is recorded as a Musician.

Army service

He was commissioned into The Somerset Light Infantry in 1942, and was seconded to the Somalia Gendarmerie at the time of his GC action. He died of his burns the next day.[2] He was born on 25 July 1916 in London and had been educated at Regent Street Polytechnic and the Royal Academy of Music, where a memorial to him was unveiled in 2006.[3] Notice of his award appeared in a supplement to the London Gazette of 6 September 1946, dated 10 September 1946.[4] He is buried in the Nairobi War Cemetery.[5] In December 2021 a plaque in his memory was installed on the wall of his Camden home by the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation.[6]

George Cross citation

Latutin's George Cross citation appeared in the London Gazette on 6 August 1946:

Captain Simmon Latutin, George Cross (Somerset Light Infantry/Somali Gendarmerie)

The King has been graciously pleased to approve the posthumous award of the George Cross in recognition of most conspicuous gallantry in carrying out hazardous work in a very brave manner to Captain Simmon Latutin 242974 Somalia Gendarmerie (Harrow Middlesex).

— London Gazette

Historical marker was placed at the home Latutin lived in in London by the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation U.K. Branch.[7]

See also

Notes
  1. His first name is recorded as Simions both in 1916 and 1939

References
  1. Captain Simmon Latutin, GC – The Hero of Mogadishu
  2. "Simmon Latutin, GC". George Cross database. Archived from the original on 16 November 2007. Retrieved 18 November 2007.
  3. "Update page". George Cross database. 12 December 2006. Archived from the original on 28 October 2007. Retrieved 24 November 2007.
  4. "No. 37717". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 September 1946. p. 4507.
  5. "Commonwealth War Graves Commission – casualty details". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 25 November 2007.
  6. Raffray, Nathalie (24 January 2022). "Plaque commemorating Jewish war hero who saved two men from fire". Ham&High. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  7. "Plaque commemorating Jewish war hero who saved two men from fire". 24 January 2022.
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