If someone were to stroll along the lower stone wall of the Castle grounds in Rochester and be transported back over a hundred years, to 3 November 1912, they would find themselves among a crowd of thousands, stretching along the riverbank opposite the Castle from Rochester Bridge. They would witness an impressive service attended by the City police, firemen, postmen, the Boys' Brigade, the Boy Scouts, the Medway Swimming Club, various bands, and many officials. People continued to arrive, filling even the terraces of Castle Gardens. Reports suggest that as many as 15,000 were present.
A census taken the previous year recorded Rochester’s population as 31,384 — a comparison that emphasises the remarkable scale of the occasion.
What had drawn such numbers together? The answer lies in an earlier event on Good Friday, 5 April 1912, on the Esplanade. That day, twenty-six-year-old Percy Henry Gordon, Warehouse Keeper of St. James's Road, Bermondsey, and his friend Charles had travelled from London to Rochester for a day’s walk. Having missed their train, they decided to return to the waterfront and sat on a bench on the Esplanade Pier, admiring the River Medway, when his friend asked, "Shall we go now?" We can only wonder how differently events might have unfolded had Percy not replied: "No, not just yet, I’ll rest here. This is one of the finest views I have ever seen in my life."
Shortly afterwards, they noticed a little girl playing on the pier who lost her footing and fell into the water. The tide was strong, and the current in this part of the river always swift, yet Percy Gordon did not hesitate. He leapt in, caught the child, and kept her head above water until the yacht Iris arrived and lifted her on board. Tragically, at that moment Percy himself went under. Whether it was a cramp, heart failure, or sheer exhaustion from battling the current remains unknown.
The rescued child, Dorothy Foster, was returned to her parents and taken home to Mill Terrace, Frindsbury. Percy’s body was recovered an hour later.
The public was profoundly moved. Such selfless bravery on Good Friday left no heart untouched. The coroner described his deed as "The act of an hero" and The Royal Humane Society posthumously awarded an in memoriam certificate, and the Carnegie Hero Trust presented their bronze medal. With public support, a memorial plaque was installed on one of the old walls of the Rochester Castle grounds. Its unveiling by the Countess of Darney drew the vast crowd to the Esplanade on 3 November 1912, where our story began.
The plaque remains there today. Walking along the Esplanade beside the lower stone wall of the castle grounds, you will find it set into the wall opposite the Pier. Walk by and take a moment to read the words of gratitude and recognition of extraordinary bravery that still inspire us:
TO THE GLORY OF GOD
THIS TABLET WAS ERECTED BY
LOCAL PUBLIC SUBSCRIPTION
TO RECORD THE HEROISM OF
PERCY HENRY GORDON
OF BERMONDSEY, LONDON,
WHO WHILE VISITING THIS
CITY ON GOOD FRIDAY APRIL 5th 1912 LOST HIS LIFE
IN BRAVELY RESCUING A LITTLE GIRL FROM DROWNING
GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS