Medal of Bravery

• Awarded on: March 18, 1985
• Invested on: September 27, 1985

At the risk of his own life, John Watt saved a seventeen-year-old boy from almost certain drowning in the Puntledge River near Courtenay in British Columbia. Early in the afternoon of 21 June 1982, three youths were riding the rapids on a large inflated tube when they were tossed overboard. Two of them swam to shore but one could not make any headway and began to lose strength as he struggled to break out of a whirlpool. Mr. Watt had witnessed the accident from shore and, seeing the teenager's predicament, dove into the rushing waters. He grabbed the youth and started for shore, but the force of the current swept them one hundred and fifty metres downstream. Though he was pulled under many times, Mr. Watt held the drowning teenager on the surface. Once in calmer water, the rescuer brought him to safety.