Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: January 19, 1981
• Invested on: March 09, 1981

Frank Barnes, M.B.
Harold Carter, M.B.
Richard Snow, M.B.
Fire Constable Anthony Squires, M.B.
Medal of Bravery

These four men made a valiant effort to save a man who had fallen into a well at Topsail, Newfoundland on 16 September 1979. The man was removing a pump which had been caught inside the well. He had gone down, freed the pump and was climbing up when he collapsed and fell back into the water. A few moments later Harold Carter arrived and went down to the rescue. He managed to tie a rope round the victim but as a neighbour pulled up the unconscious man, he slid out of the noose and fell back. By this time Mr. Carter was also overcome by carbon monoxide fumes. Mr. Barnes then descended and fixed a rope round Mr. Carter, and both were pulled out. Richard Snow was the third to attempt the victim's rescue, but the latter once more slipped out of the rope; and Mr. Snow too was overcome and had to be removed. Firemen then arrived, among them Cst. Squires who tied a rope round the victim and himself, and they were finally raised to the surface. All four rescuers were treated for exposure to the gas, but all efforts to revive the victim failed.