Man delivers a ‘thank you’ to people who saved his life 44 years ago

Following an appeal to find two people who saved Andy Steggles from drowning in Chelmsley Wood 44 years ago (1973), when he was three, both Anne Barley and Peter Owen have been traced.

Andy Steggles, now 47 and living in Washington DC, said: “Really appreciate the help and support of everyone who came together to find Anne and now Peter.

“44 years is a long time to wait to say a simple thank you for a debt that could never possibly be repaid.

“I’ve spent more than 25 of those years periodically searching for the two people who bought me back to life after I fell into a river and, for all intents and purposes, drowned.

“Armed with just a newspaper article of an Anne and a Peter who received awards for their actions, I used to scour phone books and visit libraries to try to find them.

“In ‘97, I made my first attempt at locating them via the web (Netscape 2.0), and then every year or so, I’d go on a mission re-trying and refining search parameters, all to no avail.

“Little did I know that Anne had married and changed her name and both Anne and Peter had moved out of the area a year or two after the incident happened (mid-70’s). I even hired a private investigator – all to no avail.

“I’ve always wondered whether the memories I had of the day were more imprinted than real – after all, I was only 3 years old.

“I don’t remember escaping from our back-yard, but I do have memories taking my boots off to try and cross a little waterfall. I recall dropping my boot into the waterfall and then trying to go in to retrieve it. I even remember being scared of leaches – or what I called ‘blood suckers’.

“Peter was the man who heard the group of people screaming and shouting “there’s a body in the water” outside of his house at Liverpool Croft.

“He instinctively ran out, down to the river, jumped in the relatively small waterfall where my body was lifeless and my head was stuck under a branch, pulled me out and carried me up the embankment.

“Anne, who had never met Peter before, was randomly walking nearby, saw the commotion, quickly realized what was going on and jumped in to take charge. Drawing on her Girl Guides training, she quickly instructed Peter to start chest compressions while she performed mouth-to-mouth.

“According to Anne, after what seemed a lifetime, I eventually “chucked-up a ton of water” and then started breathing again.

“Thankfully for me, Anne and Peter were persistent and despite flat-lining a further two times, they didn’t give up and kept working on me. Eventually the paramedic who arrived on the scene a little while later applied heat pads which seemed to help stabilize me.

“At the suggestion of a lady (Sue Byrne) who I had connected with trying to chase a lead to find Anne, I reached out to the Birmingham Mail newspaper where the article about the incident was originally published.

“A few days later, I received a message saying Anne had been found. Without my knowing, the newspaper had published a story, which was soon shared by thousands, detailing my quest.

“Anne’s brother, Brian (Storer) read it and called Anne saying “Anne, you’re in the paper!” Needless to say, Anne was absolutely blown away. She said she often thought about “the little lad” and what might have happened to him. With Anne’s permission, Brian passed on her contact details and I was finally able to connect with her.

“Sadly, I was not able to thank Brian in person because just a couple of weeks later, he unexpectedly passed away – part of me can’t help but think that he was meant to connect the two of us.

“Our first phone call was hard. I had to let Anne do most of the talking and could only interject with small sentences. I’m generally not one to be outwardly emotional, but this was different.

“If it wasn’t for Anne, not only would I not be here, but neither would my four kids (William, Campbell, Oliver and Penelope). And to look at Oliver who is exactly the same age as I was when it happened (3 years and 5 months) was overwhelming.

“Anne was incredibly gracious and funny. She pretended to scold me for biting her finger when they first bought me back and I “chucked up.” I laughed and apologized.

“It was still going to be a few months until I finally flew to the UK from Washington DC to meet Anne in person. The reunion was planned while I was taking my kids on a vacation to Cornwall to visit my family. I’d then take the time to fly to Manchester to meet Anne in-person for the first time.

“Soon after the newspaper published the article about my quest to find Anne and Peter, Naomi Bishop, a wonderful investigative journalist from the BBC, contacted me to ask if they could film a segment on our reunion.

“While initially reluctant, we agreed. Needless to say, it was pretty emotional. Anne spoke about how she’d never forgotten the day in 1973 at Hatchford Brook, which is near Solihull in the UK.

“What amazed me most was her total humility at performing such an action. According to Anne, she did what anyone would have done. In fact, she spent more time talking about my other hero, Peter Owen, whom I had still not found.

“BBC journalist Laura May McCullen did a tremendous job at taking care not to ruin the moment and giving us time with each other.

“Anne and I just chatted away for hours as if they were not even there – it was really just magical. I then drove Anne and her dog Murphy from Manchester down to the Birmingham area river where it all happened.

“We were able to spend time reminiscing and talking about our memories from the day and just getting to know each other.

“The original BBC segment included a request for anyone with info on the whereabouts of Peter Owen to contact them.

“Peter was at home in Dorset watching TV when his 40+ year-old photo appeared on his TV with a request to contact the BBC if anyone knew of his whereabouts. Peter said he almost fell out of his chair – he just couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

“The following day I met Peter at his home in Dorset, where he had moved 40 years earlier, to meet him and his family.

“What an amazing and humble guy. We spent hours talking about life, karma and so much more.

“Peter is the CEO of a finance services company, but more importantly to me, he’s someone I can now call a friend.

“My original goal of this quest was to simply say thank you to Anne and Peter.

“After what seems like a lifetime of searching, I was finally able to do this, thanks to many selfless people who went out of their way to help me.

“Anne and Peter are just incredible people – in so many ways, both with a similar wacky sense of humor and an amazingly positive attitude.

“While my initial quest is now complete, I feel even more satisfied that I now have two new friends with a connection and bond like no other.

“If I’ve learned anything from this experience, it’s the importance of identifying those who have had the most positive impact on my life and taking the time to let them know – to thank them.

“Showing just a little gratitude can often mean as much to the person giving it as to the person receiving it.

“Hopefully some of those who read this story might take a moment to reflect on who their ‘life savers’ are and perhaps going one step further to reach out and let them know.”

Read more and watch BBC coverage here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/44-years-deliver-thank-you-andy-steggles