What is bravery? Why do people put themselves at risk for others? Can anyone be brave? To find out we spoke to Professor of Organisational Psychology at the University of Warwick Pat Tissington, who specialises in these very questions.
How would you define bravery?
“I think bravery is really the management or overcoming of fear. It’s important to note that it’s not the absence of fear. Having met quite a large number of Victoria Cross and George Cross winners, the interesting thing is that at the time they don’t regard their actions as being particularly brave. Most of them were certainly afraid, and some said in no uncertain terms: ‘Do you think I’m stupid? I was being shot at – of course I was afraid!’ There’s an old expression which is very apt: feel the fear and do it anyway.”
Is there any way to predict who might act bravely?
“There’s no personality type that predicts who’s going to act in a courageous way. It’s really a random section of people. In terms of the courage I’ve seen, it does also tend to be on a team level. It’s been well documented forever that people don’t always fight for King and country, they fight for their friends. Particularly in combat, it does tend to be that you’re looking out for people in your team. The fact is that most of us will never know if we’d be brave if the situation demanded it because, mercifully, we don’t find ourselves in these kinds of situations.”
What causes people to act bravely?
“The common thing I found is that it comes down to the particular situation and the individuals concerned. They say: ‘I could see something needed to be done, I could see what that was, and realised it had to be me’. That really is what it comes down to normally: seeing the opportunity, knowing you have the skills, seeing a solution and realising it has to be you.
“For people in the forces there can also be a similar mindset to that observed among those in the emergency services. They think: ‘what does a person like me, with the skills that I possess, do in a situation like this? What is my identity? Who am I?’ So the courage, in a sense, comes from that very personal and professional sense of identity.
“A good example of this can be seen in the case of John Quinton DFC, and the circumstances that led to him being awarded the George Cross in 1951.”
John Quinton GC DFC
In 1951, WWII veteran John Quinton’s Wellington collided with a training aircraft. In the rear section with Quinton was 16-year-old Air Training Corps cadet Derek Coates. Quinton’s subsequent George Cross citation describes the scene as the aircraft broke apart: “As it was plunging towards the earth out of control, Flight Lieutenant Quinton picked up the only parachute within reach and clipped it on to the cadet’s harness.
He pointed to the rip-cord and a gaping hole in the side of the aircraft, hereby indicating that the cadet should jump. At that moment a further portion of the aircraft was torn away and the cadet was flung through the side of the aircraft clutching his rip-cord, which he subsequently pulled and landed safely”. Though the cadet Derek Coates survived, the entire eight-man crew of the Wellington were killed. From photographs, Coates recognised John Quinton as the man who, in saving his life, had sacrificed his own.
Is asking for help a brave act?
“Yes, I do honestly believe it is. I talk to veterans and see this often. A lot of them will say things like: ‘going to the Falklands was hard, and but I got over it. What I couldn’t get over was leaving the forces.’
“But there’s also pride involved in acknowledging that the help is needed. There’s a perception that it’s an acknowledgement of weakness, and I think being able to get over that can be a hugely challenging thing for people to do.
“It’s also a question of perspective. So imagine you reach a point in your life where you struggle to climb the stairs, for example. Asking for help might challenge your perception of yourself as a capable and self-sufficient person. Especially if you’ve always been the one providing help, not requiring it yourself. But looked at through a different perspective, asking for help becomes just another tool at your disposal. You can say: ‘I identified a problem, sought a solution and solved it.’ So it’s not an admission of weakness at all, it’s practical and decisive problem-solving. The bravery comes into play when you overcome the unwillingness to ask for help. Remember, bravery isn’t the absence of fear, it’s pushing past the fear and doing what needs to be done despite it.”
Air Mail
This interview is taken from a longer version first published in Air Mail in 2022. Air Mail is the RAF Association’s quarterly members’ magazine, which covers all aspects of the RAF and RAF Association’s work from their founding to the present day. To receive Air Mail become a member and opt for Air Mail as part of your membership.
