IT is a question most of us have asked ourselves. If we were caught up in a real-life drama, would we have the courage to do the right thing?

Mercifully most such as our troops in the Gulf, are being tested daily. One year after Saddam Hussein was toppled, Iraq is so volatile that alliance soldiers and civilians are at ever-increasing risk.

For a few, the test comes once in a lifetime. Gwyn Kwiatkowski, Christine Ramsay and Paul Yates were doing nothing more extraordinary than driving home from work when their moment arrived.

They came across the immediate aftermath of a terrible crash. Two cars were meshed together, the result of a high-speed collision.

The three commuters could have driven on. They could have rung 999 and left it to the emergency specialists.

Instead, they stopped to help. Putting aside all considerations of their own safety, the three worked together to aid the survivors.

One man was quickly helped to safety. But a teenager was still trapped alive in the wreckage. Even as leaking fuel made the threat of an explosion imminent, the three demonstrated remarkable resourcefulness and managed to pull the two vehicles apart, freeing the girl.

Yesterday the two heroes and one heroine received fully deserved bravery commendations. In a world often spoiled by the mercenary and the greedy, their actions spoke of selflessness and sacrifice.

It is a story which embodies the Easter message. On the page opposite Canon John Young, recalling the original Good Friday, asks who would have had the courage to speak out against what happened to Jesus that day.

Testing times then and now.

Updated: 09:58 Friday, April 09, 2004