AtoZChallenge: G: Gallant Conduct of a Haverfordwest Man #atozchallenge

The Blogging from A to Z April Challenge is for bloggers who wish to participate, by publishing a blog post every day in April except for Sundays. Each blog post will focus on a letter of the alphabet. For example April 1 will be A, April 2 will be B, April 3 will be C,  and on it goes. By the end of April, a blog post for every letter of the alphabet will have been published.   Blog posts are usually on a theme, or you can choose to post each day with no theme at all. My theme for 2024 is “Haverfordwest in the News”. Haverfordwest is a town in the county of Pembrokeshire, Wales.

from: South Wales Echo, Thursday 09 December,1897
GALLANT CONDUCT OF A HAVERFORDWEST MAN.
REMARKABLE RESCUE FROM DROWNING.
THE RESCUER RESCUED
A representative of the Pembrokeshire Herald recently sought and obtained an interview with Mr Joseph H. Laugharne, a young man residing at No. 3, Merlin’s-terrace, Haverfordwest, to learn from the brave fellow’s own lips the story of two rescues from drowning and death. In reply to a question from the reporter, Mr Laugharne said – “I have no objection whatever to relating ‘the facts you have referred to’.” I was going out for a walk one afternoon,” said Mr Laugharne, as he took up his first narrative, along the banks of a Welsh stream, when a girl came towards me screaming out that her brother was gone. I asked ‘where?’ and she replied that he was drowning”.
“I immediately made for the waterside, and was considerably surprised to see a boy, or rather a young man, of about 19 years of age, standing as if paralysed, and staring fixedly at another boy — who turned out to be his own brother—struggling for his life in the water. As there was no time to be lost in talking to the frightened other spectator of the awful scene, I leaped over an intervening wall, unfortunately injuring my back in so doing, and plunged right into the water after the drowning lad, who was sinking for the third and last time. Although I could not swim, and the water was over my head—and I am of a good height—I eventually succeeded in rescuing the boy.”
It was a brave deed and deserved recognition,” remarked the Pressman. “I was never even thanked for what I did, but you have, I hear,” continued the reporter, another interesting story to tell.” Yes, I have.
“This time, however, I play different part. I am the rescued one, as is well known to all who know anything of me. I was taken ill in Cardiff in 1889 I am now 33 years of age. The illness, however, had been coming on gradually, but when I was employed by the Cardiff Post Office I experienced the feeling that I was sinking, and getting weaker and weaker every day, till at last I was unable to work, and could do nothing more. I was treated by a Cardiff medical man for 72 weeks. He said my case was one of incipient consumption of the left lung and spinal curvature. After I had taken the medicine for all that time, he said he could do no more, and sent me to the Brompton Hospital for incurable consumptives. For seven weeks, I was treated there.
At the end of that time, I left there, and was away about 10 months, when I was again taken ill. It was during this 10 months’ interval, that I effected the rescue of the drowning boy. After that my back was very bad, and I returned to the hospital at Brompton, where I remained for thirteen weeks. I was nine weeks in the hospital, and four weeks in the convalescent home at Sandgate. Leaving again, I came home here to Haverfordwest, but was unfortunately, once more taken seriously ill; and so under advice once more, and for the third time, I was treated another thirteen weeks at the hospital before mentioned. Although  I received considerable benefit there, after again I came back home, my blood seemed to become poisoned, and I broke out all over. The doctor said I had skin disease. Then I had a gathering in the left foot, and everything seemed to go to that member. My medical advisor said it was a case of diseased bone, and quarts of corruption passed from it, after which it healed up, and then the eruption went to my right side, and all over my body. I had such itching and smarting that I could not sleep at night.
Then, only about four months ago, the crisis was reached. I felt like a dying man, and it was then that rescue came, and like a drowning man, I caught madly at it, for life was dear to me, and death as terrible, as to all of us. One day a pamphlet was handed in at the door, telling of marvellous rescues that had been effected, and as one of the cases I read of, was in its details similar to my own, my mother advised me to try Dr. Williams’s Pink Pills for Pale People. I obtained six boxes. I felt little benefit from the first and second box, till I had taken the third, when I could feel myself gaining strength and vigour and hope every day.
I afterwards took the remaining three boxfuls, and now I honestly feel as healthy and as well as any man could really feel, and all that disagreeable irritation has passed away too. I have now only one slight wound under the left foot, which is healing very rapidly. That is my rescue story, and it is a true though remarkable one. The effect, too, the pills had on my sleep was magical. It was for years, that I could not sleep almost at all, but now I am thankful to say I enjoy sound refreshing slumber. I had been a martyr to rheumatism for the last 12 years, with shooting pains in my legs.  Now they are gone. I have become well so rapidly, that I have now left off taking the pills for the last six weeks, and there has been no relapse. The cure is permanent. I feel obliged to recommend the pills to everybody who suffers as I did. Every member of the parish reading room, of which I am secretary, has noticed the marked improvement in me.”
His mother and other friends have also had forced upon their observation, the great change for the better in Mr Laugharne. Before the reporter withdrew, Mr Laugharne added, “I have no objection to, but have rather a pleasure in these facts being published, as I wish to impart the knowledge I possess to others, that they, too, may benefit by Dr. Williams’s Pink Pills for Pale People. Everything is now changed with me. Instead I of being a melancholy consumptive, I am bright, cheerful, and strong, ready to take an active interest in the things of life around me.”

Dr. Williams Pink Pills – Wikipedia  
Thank you to Molly from Mollys Canopy for letting me know that these pills could be found online, after taking the trouble to do a search.
Further information on the pills can be found here

**Please note: Punctuation and paragraphs have been added to the above transcription for ease and speed of reading.

1897, “GALLANT CONDUCT OF A HAVERFORDWEST MAN, The South Wales, Echo, 25 September 1921, Retrieved 14 August 2023, britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk

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