Star of Courage

• Awarded on: December 13, 1974
• Invested on: February 14, 1975

David Critch, S.C. (posthumous), Saint-Mary's Bay, NL
Star of Courage

Fourteen-year-old Davie Critch lost his life as the result of injuries he sustained in attempting to rescue a mentally retarded boy from drowning, on July 23, 1973. The boy had tumbled into deep water from an inflated rubber tube on which the two were playing. David was seen struggling to hold his friend above the surface but, by the time help arrived, he had become exhausted and sank from view. He was found quickly, brought ashore and revived, but he later succumbed in hospital. The other boy owes his life to his friend's gallant effort.