Brian Lewis, St John Fellowship from Gloucestershire

‘In 1951,
when I was a Cadet aged 15, I went swimming every week and this
particular day I noticed someone being pulled from the water.
The lad was laid face down on the floor and I asked the
attendant if I could resuscitate him as I was a St John Ambulance
Cadet. To my surprise he said to carry on. After a minute,
some water had run from his mouth, and he coughed and started to
recover. I made sure he was okay and continued to assist
him.
As a result of this, I won the Best County Cadet
Cup. Three years later, my friends and I decided to go for
a swim when a lad approached and told me he was the boy I had
saved. I met his mum who thanked me for what I had done. I said
any first aider would have done the same.’