Star of Courage

• Awarded on: June 25, 1984
• Invested on: November 09, 1984

James Wilson sustained serious burns as he rescued three members of his family from a fire which destroyed their home on 5 March 1982. The Wilsons awoke to find their house on fire. Mr. Wilson told his wife to escape through the bedroom window, then climbed the staircase, already ablaze, and reached his two children sleeping upstairs. The spreading fire made exit by the stairs impossible so Mr. Wilson broke a bedroom window and lowered the children to the ground. As soon as he had jumped to safety he realized that Mrs. Wilson was still inside. Gasping for breath and suffering from his injuries, he braved the heat and smoke and entered the house with a neighbour. Groping their way through the inferno, they found the woman lying on the bedroom floor and were able to drag her to safety. By then, the two rescuers were nearly overcome by smoke. The woman received extensive burns but, thanks to the efforts of her husband and the other man, she survived.