completed the training for the junior respiration award in 1041, when she was only 14 years old.
Sarah Downs, one of the lifeguards, inquired the Queen about her memories of achieving the award. Her Majesty noted that she didn’t realise she was the first person in the Commonwealth to receive the award, adding that she was “very proud” to be wearing the badge on the front her swimming suit.
“I just did it and had to work very hard for it. It was a great achievement and I was very proud to wear the badge on the front of my swimming suit,” she said. “It was very grand, I thought.”
During the video call on Thursday, The Queen asked 20-year-old Downs about her own experience of saving a little boy’s life at a swimming pool in Exeter in 2018, which won her the society’s Russell Medal.
Downs noted that it was while she was getting some armbands that the child had had a fit under water.
“So when I came back to the shallow end, being notified of this child under the water and then getting him out of the pool, I completed CPR on him to resuscitate and bring him back around,” she added.
During the virtual meeting, Her Majesty presented the King Edward VII Cup to Dr Stephen Beerman, from Canada. The award, which recognises outstanding contributions to drowning prevention, is presented evety two years.
