The bravery of a young 20 year old girl is to be remembered at the Old Mill.  When the Town Path is finally resurfaced, a memorial bench & plaque will be installed near to the scene of a tragic accident near Rose Cottage in 1966.

Susan Harris, from Rame in Cornwall, was a student at Sarum St Michael College, in the Close.  On Wednesday March 16th, at around 4.15pm, Susan was on a cycle ride along Town Path, when she was alerted that someone had fallen into the turbulent waters at the Old Mill.  Susan bravely swam the treacherous water to reach the 9 year old boy who had fallen in.  She grabbed hold of him, but both were pulled under the water, which was very deep in places, with strong undercurrents.

The boy was eventually pulled from the water by a 14 year old Harnham boy. 

Susan’s body was recovered some 300 yards away the following day.

I tracked down Susan’s Aunt, Mrs Joan Griffiths, who still lives in the Rame area.  She is over the moon at having a memorial plaque & bench for Susan.  Mrs Griffiths has also put me in touch with two of Susan’s friends, Helen & Victor Flute.  Helen was at the college with Susan and Victor was engaged to Susan at the time of the tragedy.

Both have agreed to come and unveil the bench & plaque, probably in either February or March.

The memorial bench will be poignant gesture to make sure Susan’s bravery is not forgotten at the Town Path.

A memorial window is above the entrance to the Cathedral.  The window was paid for by students from the college at the time.  The design by John Hutton, was chosen by Susan’s friends.