Two men from Walton-on-Naze who dived fully clothed into rough sea at Walton last summer and rescued a man and 11-year-old Jonathan Beckett, of Watford, were presented with the Royal Humane Society awards by the chairman of Frinton and Walton Council before the council’s meeting on Monday.
The recipients were Mr George Rivers (24), a bus conductor, and Mr Frank Clarke (31), an ambulance driver.
The boy, Jonathan, on holiday at Walton, was playing on the breakwater when he fell in the sea. Two men grabbed him and pulled him to safety on to the breakwater, but a large wave struck them and they were all washed into the sea.
Rescue was made difficult by an ebbing tide, causing a strong current running away from the breakwater.
Mr Rivers and Mr Clarke saw the two being swept out to sea, dived in and rescued them both from drowning.
When presenting the awards, the chairman said: “Both men acted without regard for their own safety.”
[From the Watford Observer of January 27, 1967]
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