Rescuing a woman from drowning in the Irrawaddy River
On 11 August 1898 23-year-old Charles James Deefholts, Telegraph Signaller in the Government Telegraph Department of Minbu, rescued a Burmese woman called Ma Sein from drowning in the Irrawaddy River.
I located correspondence sent between the Government of India in Rangoon and the India Office in London which document the rescue. Each letter reveals intriguing details including eyewitness accounts.
Testimony of Charles Deefholts - IOR/L/PJ/6/510 File 940
Charles Deefholts was questioned about the incident by the police on 17 August 1898. He said that he was in the office when two peons came running up and said that a Burmese woman was drowning, Deefholts ran down to the river bank with Mr Benjamin and saw the woman being taken away by the current, about 25 yards from the bank. He stripped to his underpants and swam out to her. When Deefholts reached her, only her face was out of the water and she was motionless. He seized her from behind and pushed her towards land. When they came closer to the river bank, the line-man came to help. Ma Sein’s head went under the water and that brought her round. She was only wearing a jacket, having lost her longyi. When they got onto land, she was able to walk away.
Testimonies of Kada Bux and Ma Sein - IOR/L/PJ/6/510 File 940
Kada Bux, one of the peons, stated that on 11 August he was near the river bank and saw Maung Po Mya (the woman's husband) looking for a boat. The woman was floating down the river with only her face exposed. Deefholts came running down, jumped into the water and pulled her to the bank, where the line-man helped him. She was not fully dressed.
Ma Sein was also questioned. She said that she could not swim well and got into deep water whilst taking a bath. Unable to get back to land, she drifted downstream. Deefholts came and rescued her. Her longyi was tangled round her feet, but once she had freed herself from it, she was able to float. She was not attempting to commit suicide, nor had she quarrelled with her husband.
Letter sent by the Government of India to HM Secretary of State for India, 27 April 1899 - IOR/L/PJ/6/510 File 940
A letter from the Government of Burma was forwarded on 27 April 1899 from India to Lord George Francis Hamilton, Her Majesty’s Secretary of State for India. It contained an application for an award for Charles Deefholts from the Royal Humane Society for his act of bravery in rescuing Ma Sein.
Letter from the Royal Humane Society to the India Office with a bronze medal and certificate to be awarded to Charles Deefholts 23 July 1899 - IOR/L/PJ/6/513 File 1203
On 23 June 1899 the Royal Humane Society sent the India Office a bronze medal and certificate to be awarded to Charles Deefholts for his ‘gallantry’.
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Daniel Deefholts
Civil Servant
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