THE SEVERN Bridge disaster will live forever in the memory of Mike Cadogan, of Lydney. With his father Walter Cadogan he rescued one of the three survivors of the tragedy – but he did not know who until a chance encounter 10 years later.

Mr Cadogan, a member of the well known farming and salmon fishing family, clearly remembers the events of the night of October 25, 1960, when he was living at the family home, Yew Trees, at Awre.

"The police called at around 11.30pm and wanted a boat. They told us two vessels had collided in the river and there were men in the water.

"We went to Woodend and a couple of policeman helped us launch a fibre glass rowing boat. It was very foggy but you could hear voices shouting for help in the river," he said.

Mike Cadogan, then aged 16, rowed the boat with his father navigating. It was the start of a long night.

"You could see a glow through the fog. At that stage the two vessels which had collided with the bridge were near Brims Pill. The engine was still running on one of them.

"The tide had started to ebb and we could hear people shouting for help. We pulled out into the stream with dad giving directions. The oil and petrol on the water was on fire and eventually burnt away some of the fog.

"There was a stench of oil everywhere. We could hear a man shouting and we went towards the voice and found him clinging to the marker post on the end of a rank of putts below Brims Pill. He was covered in oil and was very reluctant to let go. Eventually dad got him in the boat and we worked our way round the back of the putts to make the shore," he said.

Mr Cadogan recalls farm worker Ernie Nicholls taking the unidentified man in a tractor box to the Severn Bridge pub at Purton.

"We pulled back into the river and heard another shout for help. We were following the two tankers down the river and saw another man in the water. He was only 15 or 20 yards away but he disappeared before we could get to him and drowned in front of us."

Mike Cadogan said he suggested to his father they should go ashore.

"He told me we would stay out there are long as there was a chance they could rescue someone.

"We could hear the bumps as the boats went aground and where they can be seen today. I remember that though it was a really cold night the heat from the burning oil was tremendous. A woman had given me a coat when we were on the shore because I was only wearing a shirt – to this day I do not know who she was – and father dipped it in the water and put it over my head and shoulders to keep me cool. The heat was so fierce it cracked the gel coat on the boat," he said.

Eventually the pair called off their search and came ashore at a point between the Severn Bridge and Mr Chris Morse's house at Gatcombe.

They eventually returned to their home at Awre around 6am the following day.

There was a twist to the story for the Cadogans had no idea who they had rescued.

"Dad very rarely talked about it and I had no idea who he was," said Mike.

"About 10 years later I was driving down the Bristol Road in Gloucester and picked a man up who was looking for a lift. He explained he had missed a bus to take him to Avonmouth for an interview for a job on the tankers.

"We got talking and it turned out to be Capt Thompson, the man we had found clinging to the putts. I took him all the way to Avonmouth but we have never met since, though I would like to see him again," said Mike.

Father and son received a letter of thanks from the Chief Constable for their efforts that night.

"I'll never forget it. I will always remember the heat and the blisters on my hands from rowing. It was a terrible night and not one of those things you talk about," he said.