Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: July 3, 1996
• Invested on: December 06, 1996

Patricia Carmen Newell, M.B.
Jeffrey Richard Somerville, M.B.
Medal of Bravery

On May 29, 1995, Ms. Newell and Mr. Somerville saved a fourteen-year-old boy who had been swept from a bridge spanning a creek in Plympton Township, Ontario. After heavy rainfalls, the bridge, supported by steel piles, was acting like a dam, with water flowing over the top to form a waterfall on the other side. The boy had been swept over the edge and was trapped under the waterfall. With the help of a rope tied to her truck, Ms. Newell was lowered down from the bridge into the water near the unconscious victim. At one point, she was almost overcome by the strong current, and Mr. Somerville was also swept into the creek. After he regained the bridge, Mr. Somerville held onto the truck with one hand and leaned over the edge to grasp the victim with the other. Ms. Newell joined him and they pulled the boy to safety. Rushed to hospital, he later fully recovered.