Teen who drowned after sea rescue honoured by King

An 18-year-old who died while saving children from the sea has received a posthumous bravery award.

Callum Baker-Osborne, from Coventry, was on holiday in Poole, Dorset, on 26 July 2021 when some of his younger relatives were swept into deep water by a riptide, despite saving them all, he ended up in trouble and drowned.

Baker-Osborne has been posthumously awarded the King's Commendation for Bravery.

Reflecting on the award, his sister Samantha Grady said: "It was like a release, like finally he's being recognised for what we've said all along. He truly is a hero."

She said: "When we got the phone call we were just a bit in shell shock for a while, to be fair, sort of like: 'Is this really happening?'

"And we were just blown away. It just it made us feel like we could breathe."

Gallantry awards are given out in recognition of courage and bravery in the face of unimaginable danger.

Thirty family members had travelled to Poole for a five-day caravan holiday by the sea when the tragedy occurred.

The children were playing and paddling in water at about knee-depth when the rip current knocked them off their feet.

Baker-Osborne was last seen trying to hold his seven-year-old sister's head above water before he was swept away.

All of the children at the beach that day survived.

Baker-Osborne's body was found washed up four days later at Lake Pier in Poole Harbour - about a mile from where he entered the water.

Grady, 30, said that Baker-Osborne was "very much the comical one out of the siblings" and "made every single person laugh".

She said: "He truly was the life and soul of the party, like the most incredible person. He just went out of his way to try and help anyone, at any point."

Grady said: "Since we've lost Callum we've worked so hard to raise so much money to make a change in people's lives, and we've never, ever expected anything in return for doing that.

"We just did that for Callum."

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