Margaret Purves GC (née Vaughan; 25 November 1934 – 12 September 2021[1]) was a British nurse[2] who received the Albert Medal for an act of bravery when she was only 14 years old.
In 1949, Vaughan was awarded the Albert Medal after she saved a Boy Scout and his leader from a rough sea off the coast of Cardiff.
Her citation read: The KING has been pleased to award the Albert Medal to Margaret Vaughan and the late John Howard Davies for their gallantry in the following circumstances: — On May 28th, 1949, a party of Scouts, aged between 11 and 15 years, visiting Sully Island[5] were cut off by the rising tide from a causeway which led to the mainland.
She undressed and swam towards them over a distance of some 30 yards in cold, rough water and against strong currents due to the rising tide.
Meanwhile, John Howard Davies (aged 13 years) had safely reached the mainland when he saw that his friend, who was unable to swim, was being forced away from the causeway into deep water.
[1] She married Captain John Watt Purves of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers at Llandaff Cathedral in 1961, six months after meeting him in a military hospital bed in Hanover.