Oarsman, Lifesaver, Albert Medal Recipient. He was known as The Salford Hero and was famous for rescuing the lives of at least fifty people from drowning in the River Irwell, near Manchester. Son of an Irish boatbuilder, he was born on the banks of the River Irwell, which was then a filthy and polluted flood which ran through the core of the industrial cities of Salford and Manchester. The famous rescues began when he was only thirteen and continued for the next thirty-nine years, showing a lifelong commitment to his fellows, outstanding lifesaving proficiency and sheer courage under often very perilous circumstances. His character was described in a contemporary Manchester publication: "In all respects Mark Addy is a type of the British working-man; rough and ready, with a warm heart and a willing hand." On one occasion Addy was returning from a funeral in a new black suit, with a valuable gold watch in his pocket, when the cry went up "a child is in the river!" Mark rushed to the spot and "without divesting himself of a single garment" plunged in and rescued the child. As he stood dripping, before the crowd of excited onlookers, one said "Mark, tha has spoiled tha clothes." "What of that?" came the answer "I reckon it will also have made a mess of my watch, but it doesn't matter, there was a life at stake!" He was also an accomplished oarsman and, in addition to various successes at local regattas, he won the Thames Rowing Championship on two occasions. He received many medals for his bravery, including the gold medal of the Salford Humane Society and after his thirty-sixth recorded record attempt in 1879, the Albert Medal First Class, which was presented by the Mayor of Salford on behalf of Queen Victoria; the highest civilian or non-combat gallantry award in the British honours system (later superseded by the George Cross.) After this, he continued to save lives and in total more than fifty rescues are recorded, although some of his contemporaries said his final tally was closer to eighty souls. A local newspaper reported, "His last plunge into the dirty filthy sewage laden water of the gloomy river was on Whit Monday, 1889. He was watching the children passing in procession when a cry reached him that a boy was in the water at the bottom of Factory Lane. He made his way to the place, and to the admiration of the frightened crowd jumped into the river. He saved the lad's life, but laid the foundation of an illness that day which eventually gained the mastery of his powerful well-knit frame." He was diagnosed with having consumption (tuberculosis) and after an eight-week confinement in his room he passed away at The Old Boathouse Inn on Everard Street, where he had been the publican for many years. Donations poured in from a grateful public and a large and splendid monument was erected over his grave at Weaste Cemetery.