Portsmouth lad who turned lifesaving into a 'profession'! | Nostalgia
On March 6 I published the story of a young lad who was saved from the sea alongside Southsea Castle in 1948.The rescuer was 14-year-old Edward Abrook who now lives in Canada.
Now, Ed has sent me another Evening News cutting of when, unbelievably, he saved two more people from the sea about the same location, this time in 1954.
On August 4 of that year Ed was sunning himself and saw a woman, a Mrs Phylis Cane from Surrey, walk past him and go straight into the surf.
Ed saw the woman go under as soon as she entered the water.
He then saw a little girl 25ft farther out to sea. It was windy and the tide was pulling the girl farther offshore.
Ed, a strong swimmer ran into the sea and swam to the young girl first and then saved the woman, her mother, on the way back in.
As they reached the beach two bystanders helped get the trio ashore. It turned out neither the woman nor her daughter could swim.
Later Ed was presented with a Royal Humane Society award plus a vellum testimonial.
What became of Phylis and her daughter Barbara, who lived in Chobham, near Woking? They sent a grateful letter to Ed.
I have sent this report and photograph to news organisations in Surrey hoping they will publish the story and we can find out if they are still with us.
The photograph also shows two police officers and another civilian who received awards. Ed is on the right hand side.
PC Crisp, left, saved a woman from a burning building by climbing a ladder and rescuing her from a window while PC Miller (right) saved two people from the sea. He received a testimonial in parchment.
The other civilian was Frederick Wallis who dived into choppy waters and saved a man with an artificial leg.
• In the photograph of Sydenham Terrace, Fratton, we see different architectural frontages. On the right is part of Fratton Bridge.
Across the road from the terrace is the railway cutting where steam engines would chuff out steam and smoke darkening the windows. The cutting was originally part of the canal from Milton locks to Landport.
The pavement look like a death trap on a foggy night.
• In September 1942, Portsmouth City Police paraded at Victoria barracks. They then marched, led by the band of the Royal Marines, to the cathedral for the annual parade service. Lord Mayor Denis Daly took the salute and the retiring Commander-in-Chief (Admiral Sir William James) thanked the police for their work.