Description:Charles Wilcox (born on 11th May 1919 in Ladywood) was awarded the Edward Medal(later converted to a George Cross) for helping to rescue a colleague who had become trapped upon a window ledge. At the time he was thirty years old and employed by Birmingham Corporation as a painter. On 23rd August 1949 he and his colleagues were engaged on painting the Education Department’s offices at Margaret Street in the city centre. Alfred Leslie Burrows, a 21 year old former Sailor, climbed two rickety ladders joined together to begin work on painting an outside third floor window. At the top, forty-five feet above ground, Burrows climbed onto an arched window sill which was about eighteen inches wide. At this point he discovered that the window was bricked up from the inside and there was nothing at all to hold onto. Burrows turned to go back down the ladder but could not see it and, overcome by fear, he crouched on the ledge trying to keep his balance. Down below his colleagues heard him cry: “Help I’m fainting”. The foreman sent another painter up to help Burrows but he had to return to the ground after a few minutes leaving a now severely shocked Burrows still on the ledge...