The Herald - May 06 2005 - Editorial Comment
A Man With A Mission
Step Forward George Parsonage. Whatever the ultimate achievements of each of the 644 members of parliament elected yesterday, not one will ever match his. Mr Parsonage, now 61, has been hauling the living and the dead from the River Clyde since he was 14.
If this modest man has a boast, it is that for every lifeless body he has retrieved from those dark depths, three have been brought out still breathing.
His tireless work has also kept alive one of the world's oldest lifesaving organisations: Glasgow Humane Society.
This ebullient man-mountain of cheerfulness is the sort about whom people say: "They don't make them like him any more," and it is hard to imagine the city without him.
Long before the term 24/7 acquired currency, George Parsonage and his father, Ben prior to him, had been available at any moment to respond to an alert to the effect that someone had fallen, jumped or been pushed into the Clyde or one of its tributaries.
It is estimated that from his base in Glasgow Green he has rescued 1500 people - many would have drowned without him - and recovered a further 500 bodies.
Yesterday he was presented with a silver medal, the highest accolade on offer from the Royal Humane Society in London for his lifetime of service on the Clyde. Amid the celebrations, there was a touch of sadness and uncertainty.
The regeneration of the river has pushed safety up the agenda in recent years.
Modern notions of health and safety have dictated that the police will no longer be summoning George Parsonage to assist in river rescues.
The reason is that since the departure of his assistant, he has been working alone.
However, one suspects that by hook or crook, Mr Parsonage will continue to materialise in his rowing boat or inflatable at the scene of such incidents, to be greeted with relief.
Often he is summoned by members of the public and has undertaken not to let them down.
The French were decapitating their aristocrats when the Glasgow Humane Society was founded in 1790 to rescue people from drowning and recover corpses from the Clyde.
It predated the emergency services, and yet in the changing life of the city, it has remained a constant.
Yesterday's accolade is the latest of many George Parsonage has received: an MBE, the St Mungo Prize, a street named after him and even a song celebrating his life.
He deserves them all. It is hard to imagine a modern life that better embodies the qualities of compassion and respect for human life.