Family ‘so proud’ at posthumous royal honour for man who saved drowning woman

The brother of a man who died after jumping into the River Thames to save a drowning woman has said his family are “so proud” after they collected a posthumous King’s Commendation for Bravery.

Folajimi Olubunmi-Adewole was 20 when he jumped into the River Thames by London Bridge after spotting a woman in the water as he walked home from a night shift in April 2021.

His father Michael received the award from the King on behalf of his late son during a ceremony at St James’s Palace on Wednesday.

Folajimi’s brother Ayodeji, 34, told the Press Association: “We are so proud.

“Even the King said it himself, he said, for his age, because he was 20 when the incident happened, so for a young man to risk his life for another means a lot.

“I think that that shows who he [Folajimi] is, without me even speaking of him.”

He added that his brother’s first instinct was “to save this person”.

The woman was rescued by the coastguard and marine police but Mr Olubunmi-Adewole’s body was found several hours later.

Ayodeji said receiving the award is “a mixed feeling, sweet and bitter”.

He added: “We say sweet because he got this honour. The bitter aspect because he’s not here to receive the honour itself.”

Also during the ceremony, a motorist who stopped a knife attack on a woman in north London was awarded the King’s Gallantry Medal.

Richard O’Brien saw a man stabbing a woman as he drove past in Barnet in September 2021. He stopped to intervene and held the attacker down until the emergency services arrived.

The woman had been stabbed 10 times when Mr O’Brien, 35, from Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, stopped to help her.

His partner, Natalie Buckingham, told the Press Association: “She’s very grateful. We see her very often.”

The victim only met Mr O’Brien properly after he had given evidence in the trial at the Old Bailey.

She said: “She didn’t know what happened until the court case. It was only then, after she met Richard, that she actually knew who had saved her.

“She was very lucky. You can imagine she’s very grateful for what he’s done.”

Mr O’Brien, a director of an electrical contracting business, said he did not consider “what might have potentially happened to me, getting involved” until he arrived home after the incident.

Also honoured was a West Yorkshire Police officer who saved the life of a woman who had set herself on fire.

Pc Rhona Adams, 29, was called to a McDonald’s outlet in Bradford in June 2024. She used a “piece of kit” from her work lanyard to breach the lock of a disabled toilet and found a woman who was coated in cooking oil and on fire.

Pc Adams, who was awarded a King’s Commendation for Bravery, told PA she “literally just grabbed hold of her and started patting her down with my hands”.

The officer added: “My hands burnt and I eventually went to hospital.

“It’s something that is definitely ingrained in my mind.

“I just decided to touch her and hug her and put her needs before my own.”

On Wednesday’s ceremony, Pc Adams said: “The thing I’m most happy about is that I’m with my mum and my dad. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.

“As much as it is nice being here, I hope I am never put in the same circumstances again.

“It’s absolutely amazing, the whole thing. I’m speaking to the King and I’m like, in awe, I’m going ‘you’re the King’.”