24 Hour Museum - official guide to UK museums, galleries, exhibitions and heritage
Gateway to Over 3,000 UK museums, galleries and heritage attractions
Skip to navigation
Dramatic Story From 1911 Remembered At River & Rowing Museum
By Peter McConnell
Image: shows an interior corridor of museum
The River and Rowing Museum has recently acquired a medal awarded for bravery that sheds a little light on a small but important piece of Thames history.
In 1911 Iffley lockkeeper Percy Mellon was awarded the Albert Medal for bravery by King George V in the presence of Winston Churchill.
On a dark February night Mellon was informed that a woman had fallen from her bicycle into the river. With water running cold and fast and being driven by a strong wind he leapt into the water when he spotted an apparently lifeless body being swept towards an open weir. Displaying the gallantry for which he was honoured and with the help of his son and wife he brought the woman to the bank.
The medal and the original citation with accompanying press cuttings have recently been loaned to the River & Rowing Museum in Henley on Thames by his granddaughter.
The Albert Medal was introduced in 1866 as a civilian decoration recognising acts of lifesaving. It was discontinued in 1971, replaced by the George Cross.
Mike Rowe, Senior Curator at the Museum commented: "We are extremly pleased to have the medal, it is a wonderful story that recognises the heroism displayed by many of the characters in the riverside community."
The medal was only recently discovered by Mellon's granddaughter. On loaning the medal to the museum she commented, "Though I never met my grandparents I had heard the story from my father who assisted with the rescue."
The museum is now undertaking research into Percy Mellon's life and will be putting the medal on display in 2006.
River & Rowing Museum
Mill Meadows, Henley-on-Thames, RG9 1BF, Oxfordshire, England
T: 01491 415600
Open: Open 7 days a week:
1 May to 31 August 10.00 to 17.30
1 September to 30 April 10.00 to 17.00
Museum Cafe open from 10.30 daily
Closed: Closed Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve & New Year's Day
Related Articles
Save The Water Vole! A River & Rowing Museum Garden At Chelsea Flower Show
Treasures From The Thames Revealed In Henley
Flood Complications Force Museums And Galleries To Close
News In Brief - Week Ending July 9 2006
London's Changing Riverbanks At The River & Rowing Museum
Are You A Toad, Rat Or Weasel? The River & Rowing Museum Survey
Boris Johnson's New Job - A River & Rowing Museum Tour Guide
E-news registration
E-mail story to a friend
Tell us what you think
The Art Of Disappearing And How To Make Social Housing Sparkle
News In Brief - Museums, Galleries And Heritage News
Archaeological Dig To Uncover The Mysteries Of Carisbrooke Castle
Culture Secretary Andy Burnham Launches Library Debate
T.M. Hemy Mauretania Oil Painting From QE2 Handed To Discovery Museum
English Heritage In Nationwide Search For Young History Presenter
National Trust Wades Into The Water And Flood Management Debate
Sir Christopher Frayling: 'Unlock Creative Potential Of Collections'
New Their Past Your Future Projects Bring Generations Together
Two Of Britain's Roman And Maritime Heritage Sites Get Major Funding Boost
Winners Of Young Archaeologist Of The Year Awards 2008 Announced
Shock And Gore - Controversial Artwork Opens Brighton Photo Biennial
Black History Month Celebrates African Diaspora During October
Archaeologists Discover Roman Coastline - Two Miles Inland
London Photomonth Photography Festival Gets Underway
TV Archaeologist Julian Richards To Give Talk In Norwich
Vounteers Descend On Welwyn Roman Baths For A Major Clean Up
Beamish Museum Acquires Victorian Credit Crunch Watercolours
Search this site
Home Page
News Page
Exhibition Page
What's On
Trails Page
Website of the Week
Letters Page
Welsh Home
Graphical Version
Copyright © 24 Hour Museum
Information published here was believed to be correct at the time it was prepared. Welsh language pages developed with CYMAL: Museums Archives and Libraries Wales, funded by the Welsh Assembly Government.