A 100-YEAR-OLD policeman who saved lives during the ‘Great Flood’ of 1957 has received a medal for long service at a ceremony where other veterans and those who have made outstanding contributions were honoured.
Gil Lagarto Hacha, born in May 1919, trained at the now-defunct Guardia Civil academy in Alzira (Ribera Baixa) in 1941 and was then posted to Moncada and Massamagrell (L’Horta Nord) and Paterna (L’Horta Oest).
When describing his time with the force, Gil surprised everyone by how clear and lucid his memories and accounts of his career were – especially his involvement in the 1957 flood when the river Turia, which then ran through the outer neighbourhoods of Valencia, burst its banks.
