50 acts of courage: Boy, 11, shot by robber after standing in front of injured dad to protect him
Lots of us don't know how we'd respond in a life-or-death threat, but this new book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society celebrates the incredible acts of courage carried out by ordinary people
by Warren Manger, Fran Bowden · The MirrorTen British monarchs have seen fit to patronise the Royal Humane Society in the 250 years since it started granting awards to people for saving lives.
A delightful photo shows a smiling Queen Elizabeth II - its patron for 70 years - celebrating the society’s 200th anniversary back in 1974.
And King Charles, who succeeded her as patron, enjoyed a thanksgiving service to mark its 250th birthday at St Paul’s Cathedral last month.
While, in a foreword to a special anniversary book, featuring 50 of the staggering 89,000 acts of courage and compassion archived by the society since it launched, the late Queen’s cousin, Princess Alexandra - its president for 50 years - says: “Famous and unknown people, young and old, all of the awardees have one thing in common. By their spontaneous courage and self-sacrifice, they have saved a life or lives.”
From a Russian Tsar to an Olympian, our exclusive leaf through the book shows, like its title, they all share one trait - Bravery Beyond Belief.
Alexander I – 1806
Russian Tsar Alexander I was riding by the river Wilna in Lithuania when he saw several men drag a lifeless body from the water.
Mistaking the Tsar for a common officer, they implored him to help. He leapt from his horse, removed the man’s wet clothes, and began rubbing his temples and wrists to revive him, working for three hours until the lucky patient gave a sigh.
Eyewitnesses reported that tears filled Alexander’s eyes and he exclaimed: “Good God! This is the brightest day of my life!”
The Tsar then tore up his handkerchief to bandage the man’s arm, helped to move him to a local house where he could be cared for, and left a considerable sum of money to provide for him.
Alexander was awarded a Gold Medal by the Royal Humane Society, making him the most illustrious individual to receive the award.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel - 1827
Isambard Kingdom Brunel was named the second Greatest Briton of all time in a BBC poll for his feats of engineering, including the Clifton Suspension Bridge and the Great Western Railway.
He was also awarded the Royal Humane Society Silver Medal for rescuing five men in two separate incidents while building the Thames Tunnel.
Brunel was the first to react to a man who became trapped among floating timber in a flooded shaft. He slid down, swam to the worker and fastened a rope around his waist to pull him to safety.
A month later, a boat carrying two directors of the Thames Tunnel Company capsized while they were surveying the work.
Brunel and his colleague rescued four passengers, then stripped and returned to the spot where they spent 20 minutes diving to recover the body of a fifth.
Grace Darling - 1838
Grace was 23 and living on in a lighthouse off the coast of Northumberland when the Forfarshire steam paddler was dashed on the rocks during the night.
Spotting the disaster, Grace woke her father William but the sea was too rough to launch their lifeboat. So they resorted to a small rowing boat.
When they reached the survivors on the rocks, Grace helped four men and the only female survivor – a mother who had lost both her young children – into the boat and rowed them back to the lighthouse. They then returned to rescue another four survivors.
Grace’s courage made her one of the first celebrities of the Victorian era and inspired more than £700 in donations (the equivalent of £79,600 today), including £50 from Queen Victoria herself.
Alfred Collins - 1884
On a dark, tempestuous December night, the fishing boat, The Water Nymph of Looe , made its way back towards the Devon shoreline.
The vessel was eight miles south-east of the Eddystone – a group of heavily eroded rocks off the coast of Plymouth – when a young crew member named Hoskings fell overboard.
With a gale blowing and the rain lashing down, the boy was quickly swept 80 feet from the stern of the boat. He would have drowned if the ship’s captain, Alfred Collins, had not dived in to rescue him.
Despite wearing oil skins and heavy sea boots, Captain Collins swam out to Hoskings while carrying a rope so the crew could haul them back on board.
Mary Wheatcroft – 1902
Mary worked on the beach at Bognor Regis for 60 years, hiring out bathing costumes and towels and giving swimming lessons.
During that time, she saved at least 30 people from drowning – the first when she was just 16 - and was awarded the Royal Humane Society’s Bronze Medal.
Despite her diminutive stature, she rushed into the sea fully clothed in her long skirt and petticoat to save a struggling clerk.
On another occasion, a drowning man gripped her so hard he pushed her under the water, but she struggled free and brought him to shore.
Locals remarked that no-one ever drowned on her part of the beach – right up until she reluctantly retired at the age of 71.
Duncan Goodhew – 2000
Duncan became a national hero in 1980 when he won the Gold Medal in the 100 metres breaststroke at the Moscow Olympics.
Twenty years later he won a RHS medal after walking through Westminster to his office, and seeing an elderly man in a suit suffer a heart attack, collapse and hit his head.
Loosening his collar, Duncan showed a fellow passer-by how to perform chest compressions, then performed mouth to mouth until paramedics could rush the man to hospital.
Later Duncan discovered he’d saved the life of former minister Robert Sheldon. Thanks to the Olympian, the Labour MP lived for another 20 years, serving in the House of Lords for 14 years.
After the drama, Mr Sheldon said: “People told me what happened.
“He saved my life undoubtedly. He is a great man.”
PC Colin Swan - 2009
Off-duty policeman Colin Swan was driving along the M3 near Basingstoke with his family when he spotted smoke coming from a double decker bus and realised the rear wheel was on fire.
He pulled in front of the coach to stop it and, leaving his wife and children in the car, boarded the bus to evacuate it - making several trips to the upper deck, carrying two or three children down the stairs each time to speed up the process.
The door was alight when Colin finished rescuing all 66 passengers, but he continued working even after the burning tyre exploded right next to the fuel tank.
As well as being recognised by the Royal Humane Society, he received a Pride of Britain Award from the Mirror in 2010.
Bhupinder Rajoo, one of the last people off the bus, said: “I remember Colin pushing me out of the door and screaming at me to run. I heard the explosion and to be honest I thought he hadn’t made it. He was so close to sacrificing himself for us.”
Rick Stanton - 2018
As one of the world ’s leading rescue divers, Rick raced to Thailand after learning that 12 schoolboys and their football coach were trapped underground when the caves they were exploring flooded.
Rick and fellow British rescue diver John Volanthen battled treacherous conditions to reach the boys on July 2, who had then been stranded on a rocky shelf for nine days.
Their exploits were turned into a documentary, The Rescue , and a film, 13 Lives.
Rick was reunited with one boy last year, joining Adul Samon on stage as he graduated from preparatory school near New York.
Rick said: “I’m very proud of the fact that I was partly responsible for his life, in a way, and to see him make the most of the opportunities he’s had.”
Ruby Summers – 2020
When Ray tried to stop them, they turned a gun on him. But Ray’s 11-year-old son, Jack, stepped in front of the bullet to protect his dad, suffering life-threatening injuries.
Ray stumbled outside and screamed for help. Ruby Summers responded, dashing into the house without knowing if the gunman was still there.
She raised Jack’s legs to direct the blood towards his vital organs and used towels to stem the bleeding from the 15cm long wounds running from his shoulder.
Flown to hospital, doctors found the bones around Jack’s shoulder were shattered, his major blood vessels damaged, and his lungs had collapsed. Without Ruby’s help, it’s unlikely he would have survived. They were later reunited on the steps of 10 Downing Street.
Crocodile attack twins – 2021
Twin sisters Georgia and Melissa Laurie were on a boat tour in Mexico where the guide told them it was safe to swim in the river.
But a crocodile silently approached them before dragging Melissa underwater. Georgia raced to save her and, as the crocodile returned to attack three times, she fought it off with her fists.
Melissa recalled: “I honestly thought I was about to die.”
Once the crocodile had retreated, Georgia helped to drag Melissa aboard a boat and sang to soothe her as she was raced to hospital and placed in a medically induced coma as she recovered from her wounds and life-threatening sepsis.
On their return to the UK, Georgia was presented with a Royal Humane Society award. She also received the King’s Gallantry Medal from Charles III earlier this year.
- Bravery Beyond Belief is published by Unicorn and is available in hardback now, priced £30. Buy it here