Families reunite over dramatic river rescue in Boston
On August 3, 1926, three-year-old George Blake was rescued from the fast flowing tidal River Haven by 27-year-old police officer Samuel Pope.
And now Georgeâs daughter Anne Halliday and Samuelâs granddaughter Sue Robinson came together following an appeal on social media over an old black and white photograph of the PC.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdâAs girls my sister and I would look at the photograph in a silver frame of a policeman on our grandparentsâ lounge wall, and they would tell us the story of how he had saved our dadâs life,â explained Anne.
âThe picture moved from house to house, but always took pride of place, naturally. Although my grandparents both died some years ago, my uncle continued to live in their house, so I always thought the photo was safe. However, when I asked him if I could borrow it for copying, it had disappeared, itâs a mystery as to where.
âI decided to try to trace Samuelâs family if possible, in the hope that they too would have the photo, and did so by using various websites.
âHaving been able to find the surname of one of Samuelâs grandsons, I made contact and received a reply from him. About a week after this, his sister Sue, Samuelâs granddaughter, was posting an enquiry on the âBoston Memoriesâ Facebook site, asking if anyone knew what had happened to George, the little boy her granddad had saved.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdâMy daughter saw this, and responded straight away. It was a very emotional point for us all, and we were stunned to find that Sue lived within a couple of minutes of my daughterâs mother-in-law in a town in Northamptonshire. My son-in-lawâs sisters and Sueâs children knew each other. I still canât get over that coincidence.â
With both Anne and Sue keen to meet, the most obvious place was were the events of 90 years ago unfolded.
Anne, who says she has âalways treasuredâ a report of the incident from The Standard, added: âMy sister came along and after enjoying a look through a scrapbook containing photos and mementos of Samuel, we ventured out to have a look around.â
Included in the keepsakes is the Kingâs Police Medal, awarded in the New Yearâs Honours list of January 1927. As well as this, Samuel received a barometer from the Royal Humane Society, which also remains a treasured possession of his family.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdA copy of a letter inviting Samuel for interview to join the police force states that âonly strong swimmers would be entertainedâ, a rule of the then Chief Constable.
It also appears, that Samuel may have in fact saved another member of the Blake family. After the war when George was married and had a baby daughter, she started to turn blue. At this point, he ran to the nearest telephone box, where he found the on-duty PC Pope having a cigarette, who calmly told him âleave it to meâ.
Anne said: âI didnât find that photograph, but did find a new friend, someone who is rightly very proud of her granddad.
âI think this is an interesting story in itself, apart from the fact that I would not exist if it was not for the bravery of this fine man.
âI have two heroes, one is my father, I could not have had better, the other is Samuel Pope.â