ET Online - May 04 2005 - By Gerry Braiden
Quiet hero who has saved 1500 people from the Clyde
FOR a man who has saved many hundreds of lives on the Clyde, George Parsonage is extremely modest.
He also treats news of his latest award tomorrow with the same low-key air.
GERRY BRAIDEN meets a self-effacing hero who keeps a Glasgow tradition alive with his patrols of the city's river.
IT'S his first award for doing something right, rather than recklessly, but river hero George Parsonage makes light of the latest addition to his MBE and a host of bravery medals and civic honours.
"All I know is my wife has two plane tickets to London and we'll be going there on Wednesday," he said.
"Then there'll be something on TV ... I'm not sure what."
On Thursday, the 61-year-old chief of the Glasgow Humane Society will receive a lifetime achievement award for his selfless and tireless work.
After rescuing 1500 people from the Clyde and pulling out another 500 bodies, the Royal Humane Society reckons it's time to bestow more than a certificate on the man keeping alive one of the world's oldest life-saving organisations.
For George, it's recognition of doing his job safely and not throwing himself headlong into the river.
He said: "Every other medal I have I got for acting stupidly, putting bravery before brains and jumping on in.
"I think what triggered this award was the rescue of a lady which I managed without getting out of the boat.
"The Royal Society must have thought that after another certificate they had to give me something else."
Based on Glasgow Green since the time of the French Revolution, the Humane Society's heroism is the stuff of Glasgow legend.
George has been running the society since his father Ben died in 1979. He has lived at the Glasgow Green HQ since he was born and and has been pulling people from the river since he was 14.
Despite the march of progress, George still pulls scores of people, living or dead, from the dark waters of the Clyde every year.
Lost souls who have given up on life, drunks or drug addicts who have lost control of their faculties, fishermen with an unhealthy disregard for their own safety and those who find themselves victims of a genuine accident all have need of George's services.
Events like Gig On The Green and Orange Order parades have George on a high state of alert, concerned that the heady mix of alcohol, sunshine and a nearby river could lead to another casualty of the Clyde.
Thankfully, episodes of misadventure have been curtailed in recent years due to the introduction of low-tech deterrents, namely fencing.
His great pride is that he has never witnessed someone drown; either he has arrived on time or the body has been in the water so long the person has already died.
And, like his dad, he can boast that for every dead body pulled from the river three are brought out alive.
For most of those rescued it's an episode in life they would rather forget and letters of thanks are a rarity.
More common are the thank you letters from families or friends who have had their anguish of a missing loved one cut short by George's relentless searching.
He said: "Just a month ago I received a letter after recovering the body of a young lad from the river and all it said was 'thank you for giving him back'.
"If I can recover a body in three days rather than five, one week rather than three or a month rather than six I feel I've achieved more than any medal or award.
"It helps bring people closure, even if it is just the police and undertakers, and people appreciate that."
For all its regularity, George never sees his role in the Humane Society as "just a job", even if it would help him cope with the tragedy.
However, there are also moments which raise a smile.
In recent years he spent days searching for a middle-aged woman, day and night without success, only to discover she was safe and well and had run off to Ireland with her 'fancy man'.
He also recalls as a child an elderly woman who threw herself into the river just so she could be rescued.
"She heard my mum and dad had a nice family and would care for her if she was in need.
So after hours of walking in front of the house she plunged in.
"When we got her out she asked if it was OK to stay with us.
"Thankfully her family realised this was a cry for help and there was a happy ending."
George's fame even goes beyond Glasgow.
Ten years ago civic leaders in Derry, Northern Ireland, set up their own rescue service along the River Foyle based entirely on the Humane Society's policy of action.
But whether 1500 more people can thank George for saving them from a watery grave remains to be seen.
A recent assistant has since given up the job and a number of other agencies now carry out the same work.
Then there is the small matter of George just a few years away from collecting his pension.
He said: "As long as I am physically able to do the job and the citizens of Glasgow want it done I'd like to continue but we never know what's round the corner.
"Whatever happens, I can only wish the citizens of Glasgow get as good a service as they've had for the past 215 years."