A LISKEARD teenager has been honoured by His Royal Highness, The Duke of Edinburgh, after using first aid skills he learned through the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award to save a man’s life.

James Hawken, 18, met The Duke at a special Buckingham Palace celebration on May 9, which was held to recognise Gold DofE Award recipients.

James, a former student at Callywith College in Bodmin, now studies Outdoor Education at Plymouth Marjon University.

Last June, James was on a bus home from college when he spotted a man collapsed on the pavement. Without hesitation, he jumped off the bus and began performing CPR – a skill he learned during his DofE training. He continued for 10 minutes until a bystander brought a defibrillator. Together, they stayed with the man for 45 minutes until paramedics arrived. The man later recovered.

James was one of a handful of young people personally introduced to The Duke in recognition of his bravery. Speaking about the award, James said: “It was a very enjoyable experience, especially the expedition.” The Duke replied, “Very good!”

His mother, Dawn Hawken, praised her son’s quick thinking: “I’m so proud of James. The first aid skills he learned through the DofE also saved my life last week when I was choking – he performed the Heimlich manoeuvre.”

As part of his Gold DofE, James volunteered at the British Heart Foundation, trained in first aid, and completed a four-day expedition. He credits his Jiu-jitsu instructor, Mark Tucker, for introducing him to first aid, which he now calls “invaluable.”

The Gold DofE programme is a non-competitive personal challenge, open to all young people, which takes a minimum of 12 months to complete. Young people build their own programmes with activities in five sections – Physical, Skills, Volunteering, a five-day residential and a four-day expedition.