Princess Alexandra presents The Royal Humane Society Awards at Buckingham Palace

Today, Princess Alexandra presented The Royal Humane Society Awards at Buckingham Palace. Founded in 1774, the society has been granting awards for acts of bravery in the saving of human life for over 240 years.

While The Queen is Patron of The Royal Human Society, Princess Alexandra is President of the charity, which grants awards for acts of bravery in the saving of human life. Awards may be granted to those who have put their own lives at risk to save or attempt to save someone else.

Princess Alexandra heard some incredible stories today; Mark Maloney received a bronze silver award for jumping into The Thames after a young boy who had fallen in and was being carried away by the current.

Theresa Cosgrove and John Moore rescued a motorcyclist and a driver after a collision in Elstree caused their vehicles to catch fire. Both Theresa and John managed to drag each person to safety. John was later treated in hospital for burns.

While climbing Mount Everest, Leslie John Binns, who lost an eye in an IED attack in Afghanistan, rescued a woman who suffered a brain trauma whilst trekking.  He carried the woman by piggy-back all the way down to Camp 4, climbing for 9 hours without sustenance, before he eventually found an American Climbing Team. Binns was awarded a RHS Silver Medal today.

You can recommend someone you think is deserving of winning a Royal Humane Society Award here.