Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: April 5, 1988
• Invested on: August 19, 1988

David Charles Fallowfield, M.B.
Volunteer Firefighter Robert Owen Fulford, M.B.
James Michael Gregory, M.B.
Firefighter James Perro, M.B.
Medal of Bravery

At two o'clock on the afternoon of February 7, 1987, ice yacht races being held at Hamilton Harbour near Burlington, Ontario, were cancelled due to poor ice conditions. Two spectators at this event, returning to shore on their ice sailing boats, fell through the thin ice almost a kilometre from the dock. David Fallowfield, another spectator, saw the two men in difficulty and attempted to pull one of the victims onto the ice using an aluminium toboggan. During this time Firefighter James Perro and volunteer firefighter Robert Fulford had worked their way across the thin ice towards the victims using an extension ladder to support their weight. As they approached the stranded men they themselves broke through the ice and were soon joined in the freezing water by David Fallowfield. At this point James Gregory, who had been demonstrating his hovercraft on the other side of the Bay, was told that an emergency flare had been sighted on the Burlington side. He immediately launched his vessel, travelled across the Bay and started pulling the victims one by one from the water and transporting them to the dock. By this time the men had been in the freezing water for almost an hour and some of them were unconscious. Although the extra weight and dangerous conditions were causing major damage to his small craft, Mr. Gregory managed to pull four of the five victims from the water before a helicopter arrived to finish the rescue.