Acts of heroism
Heroes for a Day – True stories of incredible bravery and risk

Lisa Potts. Hodder & Staunton. 246pp. $19.95.

Reviewer :: GPCAPT Phil Morrall (rt’d)

This collection of 10 stories relates how unassuming and perhaps unexceptional people showed extraordinary courage when thrust into personal danger.

As an infant school teacher in the UK, the author, Lisa Potts, led her children on a teddy bears’ picnic in the local park on July 8, 1996.

A man attacked the group with a large knife or machete. Lisa’s hands were nearly severed and she suffered other serious injuries in protecting the children. She was awarded the George Medal and needed surgery over a period of two years or so to repair the damage.

As a consequence of the attack, Lisa decided to research and present the stories of other “heroes” she encountered in the Unsung Heroes Awards system operating in the UK.

She writes, “I think a hero is a person who instinctively go-gets in the face of danger, who thinks quickly and calmly and reacts fast in an emergency, and who will try their best to save the day. When you read their stories, you will see that none of my heroes or heroines expected to hit the headlines. None of them were out looking for some special excitement.”

A blind man swims to the rescue; a stewardess saves a runaway tourist coach; a pensioner thwarts an armed robbery; a family car inferno; the Dunblane school tragedy – these are among the stories retold in the book.

Heroes for a Day has a special link to the Australian Defence Force as chapter 10 recounts the extraordinary exploits of Flight Lieutenant Euan Duncan in rescuing members of an Everest expedition in May 1996.

FLTLT Duncan was one of two Royal Australian Air Force members killed in a Tiger Moth accident at RAAF Base Williamtown on February 16, 2002. (The other was my son, Flying Officer Luke Morrall).

In 1996 Euan, then in the RAF, and his mates were the only people in a position to help another ill-fated expedition after a storm hit.

Over a 72-hour period they extracted the dead, the dying and the barely alive. Some dead had to be abandoned, some injured died, some barely alive lost limbs, noses and other appendages to frostbite.

All of this resulted in Euan losing his chance at climbing Everest, £10,000 of his own money, his health and fitness. He was medivaced back to the UK. It took three years for him to recover and begin mountaineering again. Euan spoke candidly to Lisa of crying, laughing, faith and other personal aspects of his life.

Lisa reflects, “This is a story of endurance over a long period of time, not a sudden flash of heroism. After three years he has found himself again.”

If you knew Euan Duncan you should read this book to better understand your friend and colleague. If, like my wife and me, you did not meet him, you should read this book as a source of inspiration against the cynical and sceptical nature of our modern world.