South Yorkshire Times, May 19th 1951
Thought He Was On Firm Ground
Brampton Three Year Old Rescued From Muddy Pond
A 3 year old Brampton child was rescued from the muddy debts of Brickyard Pond on Friday by a 23 year old cottonwood miner, Mr Fred Lowe, of 46 Packman Rd, Brampton.
The child, John Cross, 30 Packman Rd, was treated by a doctor and by the following day was none the worse for his adventure.
Mr. Law told a reporter he had just got changed, ready to go out when a woman “came screaming along the backs” with the news that a child was in the pond. He he dashed across to the pond and when he got there, found the boy was “just going down again.” He jumped in and got hold of in and while he was struggling out, John’s uncle came and took the boy out of his arms. 1114
The pond, said Mr. Law, was about six feet deep, but it had lately been used for tipping was clogged up with hashes, tin cans and other refuse. When he tried to get out of the pond he kept slipping on the loose ashes.
“In the Water”
Mrs. Jessie Cross, John’s mother said that she was looking for John at the bottom of the road when a little boy ran up saying, “John’s in the water”. When she arrived on the scene he had already been rescued I was being given a mustard bath in a neighbour’s home.
Mrs Cross was able to fill in the rest of the story from information given by other children and neighbours.
John, apparently, had been playing in a field by the pond with four more children. One of the children gave John a toy drum, and the see-through on to the surface of the pond.
The surface was covered with ashes, the drum did not sink, and John, imagining himself to be on solid ground, went after the drum and sank down into the muddy water.
Yesterday, John had got back his rosy cheeks and was perched, spick and span on the kitchen table, waiting to shopping.
But it will be a long time before he goes ‘walking” on Brickyard Pond again.
Footnote: Last week Mr. Law was off work with rheumatism in both legs.”But you wouldn’t have thought so if you’d seen me running across there, he laughed.
Council Tributes
At Wednesday’s meeting of Wath Urban Council, Councillor I.O. Carr referred to Mr Law’s gallantry, and added that his clothes had been damaged during the rescue.
The clerk (Mr R.H. Fish) agreed to investigate the possibility of awarding compensation, and the Council agreed to send letter of appreciation to Mr Law. The houses along Packman Road are in the Wath Urban Council area, but the pond is in the Rotherham Rural District