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No Greater Love

A powerful memorial to the bravery of an ordinary man Leigh Pitt, who saved a boy from drowning but did not himself survive.

Leigh Pitt was an ordinary man. One summer evening in June 2007, he jumped into a London canal to save a nine-year-old boy. The boy survived; Leigh drowned.

Two years later he became the first person in 78 years to be commemorated on the Memorial of Heroic Self Sacrifice - one of London's least-known monuments. Hidden in Postman's Park - a patch of green behind St Paul's Cathedral - the Memorial was established in 1900 by the artist George Frederic Watts.

It recognises the bravery of individuals who die rescuing others, each of its plaques offering an insight into the dangers of Victorian life. Those remembered include Sarah Smith, the pantomime artiste whose dress caught fire as she saved her friend and Frederick Croft, who rescued 'a lunatic woman' from suicide but 'was himself run over by the train'.

Time has distanced us from these tragedies. But as we hear more about Leigh's death every sacrifice commemorated in the park becomes more poignant.

A documentary-memorial to an ordinary man's bravery, exploring the gap between the words on a plaque and the immensity of a life loved, lived and lost.

No Greater Love is presented by Cathy FitzGerald, and produced by Cathy FitzGerald and Matt Thompson.

(Image: Leigh Pitt)

Available now

25 minutes

Last on

Mon 17 Dec 2012 02:05GMT

Broadcasts

  • Sat 21 Jul 2012 11:05GMT
  • Sun 22 Jul 2012 08:05GMT
  • Sun 22 Jul 2012 21:05GMT
  • Sat 15 Dec 2012 09:05GMT
  • Sun 16 Dec 2012 14:05GMT
  • Sun 16 Dec 2012 20:05GMT
  • Mon 17 Dec 2012 02:05GMT