Edith Marie MacInnis, M.B.
Deborah Ann Palmer, M.B.
Medal of Bravery
Fourteen-year-old Edith MacInnis and Deborah Palmer combined efforts to save an eleven-year-old girl from drowning at Cable Head on the afternoon of 23 July 1984. Edith and a friend were standing on a sandbar approximately twenty-five metres from shore when a large wave swept them into deep water. The friend found herself beyond her depth, caught in the undertow. Breasting the cross-currents, Edith seized the drowning girl then struggled to keep the girl's head up. Her cries alerted Mrs. Palmer, who was on the beach with her children. Not a strong swimmer, she nevertheless entered the rough waters and reached the foundering pair. While the nearly-exhausted Edith returned to safety unaided, Mrs. Palmer brought her unconscious friend to shore where she applied artificial respiration.