In Memory Of

WOOD, CHARLES CAMPBELL

Service Details
Age:
 28
Date of Birth:
 1891-12-08
Rank:
 Lieutenant
Unit:
 No. 1 Technical Wireless School
Regiment:
 Royal Air Force
Date of Death:
 1920-01-10
Cause of Death:
 Two days after Christmas in 1919, Lt. Charles Campbell Wood of the Royal Air Force earned a small place in history, but he earned it the hard way. Near midnight on a cold London winter evening Campbell Wood heard a call for help from the Thames. Rushing onto the western, upriver side of the Hammersmith Bridge, he saw a woman in peril, caught in the river's flow and in dire danger of expiring. Diving into the river to rescue her, Campbell Wood saved the woman's life. But in so doing, he also severely injured his head, and this eventually brought about his death in hospital from tetanus. Today the only reminder of his story is a small brass plaque on a handrail, which marks the spot on the bridge where Campbell Wood dived into the Thames to risk his life to save the life of a complete stranger.
Commemoration
Grave Reference:
 I. 16. 136.
Cemetery:
 ST. MARYLEBONE CEMETERY
Localitly:
 Middlesex
Country:
 United Kingdom
Additional Information
Decorations:
 Mentioned in Despatches
Son of Mrs. Grace E. Wood, of Johannesburg, South Africa.