Littlehampton sea rescue man's sudden death

THE strain of rescuing a teenage girl is thought to have caused the death of a brave pensioner.
By The Newsroom
Published 21st Sep 2009, 11:47 BST
Updated 8th Jun 2018, 01:17 BST

John Faber, 84, plunged into the sea at Littlehampton, when he heard cries for help from a friend's grand-daughter, as she struggled against strong winds carrying her away from West Beach.

Read the original story of John Faber's heroic rescue here.

John, of Batworth House, Crossbush, swam out to help her, but both were swept onto the West Works pier.

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He helped Madeline Swan, 13, clamber onto the timber structure, but was himself buffeted by powerful waves and suffered extensive bruising, and cuts from the shingle.

Recovering

At first John seemed to be recovering well, and even visited Littlehampton lifeboat station to thank the crew members who rescued him at the beginning of July.

But he later suffered a couple of falls, the second time breaking his ankle, and ended up in hospital.

His widow, Jeanne, speaking after John's funeral service at a packed Burpham Church said: "He was in and out of hospital those last few weeks.

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"Everything was a real struggle for him and in the end, he died from heart failure."

Religious

The couple moved to Crossbush from Wiltshire six years ago.

Both spent their lives working for a Christian charity, Moral Re-Armament (MRA), now known as Initiatives of Change, promoting peace and reconciliation work between religious and other groups, and high standards in personal and public life.

John and Jeanne worked with MRA in India for a number of years and he also served as the secretary of the UK arm of the charity. He had a flair for design and publishing.

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Among the 270 messages of sympathy from all over the world received by Jeanne and the couple's daughter Sue was one from Rajmohan Ghandi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi.

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Related topics:Crossbush