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On 3 September 1939, Britain declared war on Germany, and George, a Sub Ganger for Southern Railway and a Scoutmaster with the 9th Farnham (Tongham) Troop, was within the year living at Cottages alongside the single-track railway at Tongham; which, up until 1937 had been twin tracks, when public transport came to a close with the line subsequently remaining open for industrial use.

Now August 1940, there has been a munitions train in the sidings for some ten days, loaded with explosives intended for reception and re-issue by the Royal Army Ordnance Corps. Nearing midnight on 22 August, George heard the drone of an aircraft overhead, later thought to be a lone Dornier bomber… and then a flash. Once outside he counted as many as eleven incendiary bombs as they dropped from above, then a number of explosive bombs, at least one of which hitting the third carriage.

George first assisted locals in nearby cottages, quickly helping them into shelters before attempting to muster an engine. Unsuccessful he instead set about trying to uncouple the remaining trucks from the fire blazing carriage, but was beaten back by the flames and shear weight of the trucks. At this point it's believed George Leach arrived, having cycled approximately two miles from his home, and they both started unhooking the trains from the other end, pushing them down the metals some 300 yards into a clearing away from immediate danger west of Grange Farm.

Along with others, including military personnel and the Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS), they continued to work for a further two hours; with munitions igniting and debris shooting everywhere, clearly without consideration for their own safety. Finally, black to the waist, their combined efforts averting a certain catastrophe, undoubtedly preventing untold damage, reportedly saving the lives of those in nearby homes, the danger to individuals in Grange Road quite apparent.

Following the bombings there were reports of beds on fire and brave young scouts, cracks in housing, of an unexploded time bomb, and damage to St. Paul's Church and the burial grounds on Poyle Road. The RAF diary entry for that night reported High Explosive (HE), Incendiary Bombs (IB), and one casualty (unknown) so far.

Both men were publicly thanked for their courageous acts at a presentation in the Village Hall, and on 15 November 1940 the London Gazette announced that George Frederick William Keen and George Henry Leach were to be awarded the George Medal, stating: Both men acted quite regardless of their own safety and at very considerable personal risk. George Keen was also decorated with the Fire Service Gallantry award, the Southern Railway Silver Guilt Medal, and presented with the Scouts Bronze Cross, the highest award of the Association for gallantry, granted for special heroism of action in the face of extraordinary risk, 'for his gallantry in saving from destruction with the help of volunteers he had called upon, an ammunition train which had been bombed during an air raid at Tongham, August 1940'.

Nine months after the bombing, to the day, 22 May 1941, George Keen, a diabetic, was taken ill while at work. Returning home he was attended to by a nurse and, following a visit by a doctor on the Saturday, was admitted to the Royal Surrey County Hospital at Guildford reportedly suffering from shock. George subsequently slipped into a coma and died the next day 25 May 1941, just two days before he was due to collect his medal from the King at Buckingham Palace.

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