Home   News   Article

Canal rescue earns Ross scout leader special honour





All the members of the Conon Bridge and Maryburgh Scout Group gather behind (front row, from left) Assistant Scout Leader Chris Hopkins, District Commissioner Ken Wilson, Jamie Stephen (10) and Catriona Meiklejohn, who received a bouquet of flowers from G
All the members of the Conon Bridge and Maryburgh Scout Group gather behind (front row, from left) Assistant Scout Leader Chris Hopkins, District Commissioner Ken Wilson, Jamie Stephen (10) and Catriona Meiklejohn, who received a bouquet of flowers from G

A ROSS-SHIRE assistant scout leader has received a prestigious award for his heroic efforts in helping to rescue a boating couple who got into difficulty on the Caledonian Canal.

Chris Hopkins leapt from the canalside into the boat to help control it and comfort the sole woman on board, after her husband fell into the water.

Chris and another scouting member took action to rescue the boat, as other scouts saved the man from the water.

The drama unfolded at Dochfour outside Inverness in October last year as Chris, of the 1st Conon Bridge and Maryburgh Scout Group, attended the Cally Rally, an annual camp for scouts and guides from all over Scotland.

His actions were celebrated at his scout group’s presentation night last Friday when he was awarded the Chief Scout Personal Award by Ken Wilson, Ross and Sutherland District Commissioner.

This is the first time the award, which is presented on rare occasions for outstanding actions, has been given to a scout member in the Ross and Sutherland District.

Chris from Marybank has been an assistant leader with the Conon and Maryburgh group for about five years and works as a senior instructor at the Fairburn Activity Centre.

Group Scout Leader, Corinna Lonnen, said she was very proud of Chris and added they had a brilliant night celebrating his honour and the achievements of the youngsters.

She explained the rescue happened when the man slipped and fell in as the couple were setting off to go down the canal.

“The boat started off with his wife on board and Chris and another chap jumped on the boat,” she said.

She explained his other scouting colleagues, from a scout group in Moray, managed to pull the man out of the water.

Other badges presented on the night were to Jamie Stephen who was awarded the Chief Scout Silver Award, which is the highest award that a cub can gain. Jamie has completed all the challenge badges. Zak and Euan from Beavers were presented with the Experiment and the Global Challenge Badge.

And all cubs present were awarded activity badges which they had gained.

A special mention was made to Ross who has recently been awarded the Chief Scout Gold Award, which is the highest award that a Scout can gain.

Catriona Meiklejohn stepped down as the group secretary after five years and was presented with gifts to thank her for all that she had done for the group as secretary.

Corinna said of the evening: “I am very proud to belong to a group that work very hard throughout the year. I am extremely grateful to all leaders, helpers, committee, parents and the young people who attend every week.”


Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.



This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More