Margaret Purves GC (née Vaughan; 25 November 1934 – 12 September 2021) was a British nurseAlderson, Andrew and Karyn Miller
"For Valour: the bravest of the brave gather to mark the 150th anniversary of the Victoria Cross,"
''The Telegraph'' (UK). 25 June 2006; Retrieved 16 December 2012. who received the Albert Medal for an act of bravery when she was only 14 years old. In 1971, the Albert Medal was discontinued (along with the

Edward Medal The Edward Medal was a British civilian decoration which was instituted by royal warrant on 13 July 1907 to recognise acts of bravery of miners and quarrymen in endangering their lives to rescue their fellow workers. The medal was named in hono ...

) and all living recipients were invited to exchange the award for the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational Courage, gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, ...

Early life

Margaret Vaughan was born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, Wales. Her father James Boswell Vaughan was a Chief Superintendent of Cardiff City Police and her mother was Dorothy May Vaughan (). In 1949, Vaughan was awarded the Albert Medal after she saved a Boy Scout and his leader from a rough sea off the coast of Cardiff. Notice of the award was published in the ''

London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

'' on 1 November 1949. She became one of the few living holders of the Albert Medal.

Albert Medal citation

Purves received her decoration from

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

. Her citation read:

The KING has been pleased to award the Albert Medal to Margaret Vaughan and the late John Howard Davies for their gallantry in the following circumstances: — On May 28th, 1949, a party of Scouts, aged between 11 and 15 years, visiting
Sully Island Sully Island () is a small tidal island of by the hamlet of Swanbridge in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It is located off the northern coast of the Bristol Channel, midway between the towns of Penarth and Barry and south of the Welsh capita ...
were cut off by the rising tide from a
causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet T ...
which led to the mainland. Most of the boys got safely across, but two of them were forced off the causeway by the strong tide. The leader of the party returned to help the elder boy but in the struggle he too became exhausted. Margaret Vaughan (aged 14 years) saw from the beach the difficulties they were in. She undressed and swam towards them over a distance of some 30 yards in cold, rough water and against strong currents due to the rising tide. On reaching them she towed the boy to the shore while he supported himself by grasping the straps of her costume and his leader's coat. At about ten feet from the shore a life belt was thrown in which the boy was placed by the other two and the three reached the shore safely. Margaret Vaughan's action probably saved the life of the Scout leader as well as that of the elder boy. Meanwhile, John Howard Davies (aged 13 years) had safely reached the mainland when he saw that his friend, who was unable to swim, was being forced away from the causeway into deep water. He stripped to the waist and went back along the causeway to help him. By swimming out he was able to grasp his friend, and hold him up in the water. Both boys shouted for help and it was obvious that they would not get ashore unaided. By this time a rescue boat had put out from the shore but Davies became exhausted by his efforts and before the boat could reach them he was forced to release his hold on his friend and they drifted apart. The boat rescued the friend but no further sign of Davies was seen. His body was subsequently recovered. There is no doubt that in returning to the aid of his friend after he himself had reached safety Davies gave his life in this rescue attempt.

Vaughan was the last living person to receive the Albert Medal;"27th Reunion of Victoria Cross and George Cross holders" at VictoriaCross.org
/ref> it was declared a posthumous-only award later in 1949. From the total of 64 eligible to exchange the Albert Medal for the George Cross in 1971, 49 took up the option, including Margaret Purves. She was invested with the George Cross by the Queen at Buckingham Palace in 1974.

Later life

After leaving school, Margaret Vaughan trained as a nurse, and from 1957 served as an officer in the

Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps (QARANC; known as ''the QAs'') was the nursing branch of the British Army Army Medical Services, Medical Services. In November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army Medical Corps and Ro ...

. She married Captain John Watt Purves of the

Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers The Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME ) is the maintenance arm of the British Army that maintains the equipment that the Army uses. The corps is described as the "British Army's professional engineers". History Prior t ...

Llandaff Cathedral Llandaff Cathedral () is a Church in Wales cathedral and parish church in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales. It is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, head of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. It is dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul, and ...

in 1961, six months after meeting him in a military hospital bed in Hanover. In 1983 Purves and her husband retired from the army and settled at

Bradford-on-Avon Bradford-on-Avon (sometimes Bradford on Avon) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in west Wiltshire (district), Wiltshire, England, near the border with Somerset. The town's canal, historic buildings, shops, pubs and restauran ...

in Wiltshire, where she served on the town and county councils until 1989. She was the

Referendum Party The Referendum Party was a Eurosceptic, single-issue party, single-issue political party that was active in the United Kingdom from 1994 to 1997. The party's sole objective was for a referendum to be held on the nature of the UK's membership ...

candidate in

North Wiltshire North Wiltshire was a Districts of England, local government district in Wiltshire, England, between 1974 and 2009, when it was superseded by the unitary area of Wiltshire (district), Wiltshire. The district was formed on 1 April 1974 by a me ...

at the 1997 election. In 2016, the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

purchased a portrait of Purves by photographer

Rory Lewis Rory Lewis (born 5 October 1982 in Chester, England) is a British photographer known for his celebrity portrait photography. Lewis's inspirations include the works of the artists Hans Holbein the younger, Caravaggio, Titian and Thomas Lawrence a ...

for its permanent collection.

References

External links

George Cross Recipients
{{DEFAULTSORT:Purves, Margaret 1934 births 2021 deaths Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps officers British recipients of the George Cross Welsh nurses People from Cardiff British women nurses Recipients of the Albert Medal (lifesaving)