Ahead of Christmas 1978, readers of the Farnham Herald opened their papers to find an extraordinary tale — one that sounded more like a boys’ adventure novel than a news article in a Surrey town’s local newspaper.

It concerned 24-year-old Nicholas de Meric of Tilford, who had just survived 10 days marooned on a remote Australian island with shark meat his only source of food.

Nicholas, son of Commander and Mrs de Meric, had been sailing a six-metre catamaran up the rugged West Australian coast with his friend, New Zealander Graham Lindsay, when disaster struck. A violent storm threw their vessel onto rocks off Augustus Island, leaving the pair stranded with only the supplies they could carry ashore.

For days, they lived a castaway existence worthy of Robinson Crusoe. They baked crude bread with seawater, fashioned rain catchments from black plastic, and even lured sharks into shallows for food. They slept on the beach, exhausted, and kept a wary eye on their dwindling resources, hoping the tides would refloat their crippled boat.

On the eleventh day, Nicholas made a desperate decision. He pushed his dinghy into a shark-infested channel and began rowing the 22 miles towards the mainland. After half a day at the oars, a customs launch spotted his tiny craft and carried him to safety. Graham was rescued soon after.

Back in Tilford, the news travelled quickly. Neighbours recalled the family’s relief, and prayers of thanksgiving were said at the village church where Nicholas had once been confirmed.

His parents reflected on his adventurous spirit, a streak that had taken him from Farnham to Australian cattle stations, Sydney stables, and finally the deck of the catamaran he named Valelisa.

The story of the young man from Red Lion Lane became one of the most astonishing survival tales ever linked to Farnham — and one that spread across the UK as it reached the national press and was broadcast on the BBC.