1876 ‘Successful’ Bronze Royal Humane Society Medal. Smith. Gloucester.

Correctly named FA Smith 19 August 1876 with correct ribbon.

The Tewkesbury Register dated December 9th 1876 carries the following article:

A Deserved Public Recognition Of Bravery.

In our issue of August 26th, we published a letter from Mr RW Ashley of the Eagle Factory in which the writer gave particulars of a very courageous act that he, in company with Mr W Merrell had witnessed the previous Saturday, on the part of a young gentleman named Smith from Shuthonger House School.

A little girl had fallen into the River Avon, close adjoining the Mythe Bridge, and was fast drowning, when Master FA Smith, who was on his way to Gloucester on a visit to his friends, arrived on the bridge, and seeing the child sinking, at once dived from the bridge, and succeeded in rescuing her.

We are pleased to hear that in due course the act of bravery has been brought under the notice of the Humane Society, and the Institution has awarded Master Smith the bronze medallion of the Society.

This medal was formally presented to Master Smith, on Wednesday evening last, at one of the ‘Penny Readings’ held at Shuthonger House.

Extracted from the Gloucester Journal, Saturday December 9th 1876.

At a meeting of the Royal Humane Society, last week, a bronze medallion was awarded to Master FA Smith, aged 16 (son of Mr Smith, of the Talbot Inn, Gloucester) for diving from a bridge about 20ft from the water, and rescuing a girl who accidentally fell into the River Avon, at Tewkesbury, on the 19th August.