Pensioner Who Stepped In To Help Jo Cox Awarded George Medal

16 June 2017, 22:30

The pensioner who tried to stop a right-wing extremist from murdering Batley and Spen MP Jo Cox in Birstall has been awarded the George Medal.

Bernard Kenny, 78, was seriously injured when he was stabbed as he intervened when Thomas Mair attacked Mrs Cox a year ago.

There were numerous calls after the tragedy for Mr Kenny to be honoured by the nation, including a petition aimed at securing him the George Cross - the highest possible civilian honour.

At Mair's trial at the Old Bailey, the jury heard that the pensioner was waiting for his wife outside the library in Birstall when he saw Mair going "berserk''.

He said in statement to police: 
"I thought if I could jump on to the back I could take him down.

"I thought he was thumping her until I saw the blood. I saw he had a knife in his hands. It was what I call a dagger. The blade was about nine inches.

"Just as I got short of him, he turned around and saw me. He shoved the knife in and it hit me in the stomach. The blood started pouring out between my fingers. I saw the blood and I thought 'Oh my God'.''

After the attack, more than 80,000 people signed an online petition calling for Mr Kenny to be awarded the George Cross for his bravery.

A letter posted on the petition site said:
"We the undersigned wish that Bernard Kenny's act of supreme bravery should be recognised by the highest honour the UK Government can bestow. At this time when the country is dominated by fear and hate, we think that a man motivated only by selfless courage and love should be honoured in this way, and quickly.

"Please would you act straight away to award Bernard Kenny the George Cross for his incredible bravery in trying to save the life of Jo Cox MP and show our country that love wins over hate.''

Mr Kenny is a former member of the Gomersal Mines Rescue team who tried to save victims of the Lofthouse mine disaster in 1973.

After the attack, he was also made the guest of honour at a rugby match between Batley Bulldogs and Dewsbury Rams, where he laid a sunflower on the pitch in memory of Mrs Cox.

Two West Yorkshire Police officers, Pc Craig Nicholls and Pc Jonathan Wright, who arrested Mair have been awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal.

Here's a list of the rest of people from Yorkshire who've been recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours:

ROYAL VICTORIAN ORDER
DCVO
Dr Ingrid Mary Roscoe. Lord-Lieutenant of West Yorkshire.

MEMBERS OF THE ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE (MBE):
Mr John BERESFORD, Show Racism the Red Card campaign volunteer, for services to education (Sheffield).

Mrs Natalie GILMOUR, for services to women's rugby league (Rotherham, South Yorkshire).

Mr Brian NOBLE, former GB coach, for services to rugby league and charity (Bingley, West Yorkshire).

ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE
CBE
Councillor Judith Vivienne Blake. Leader Leeds City Council. For services to Local Government. (Leeds, West Yorkshire)

Dr Nicholas Paul Clarke. Head of Professional Regulation NHS. For services to Acute Care and Workforce. (Holmfirth, West Yorkshire)

Dr Gordon Christopher Horsfield. For services to Young People and to Charitable Giving. (Brandsby, North Yorkshire)

Professor Graham Andrew Leslie. Visiting Professor of Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Huddersfield University. For services to Entrepreneurship. (Holmfirth, West Yorkshire)

ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE
OBE
Christopher Darmon. For services to Young People through the Youth Hostel Association. (Sheffield, South Yorkshire)

Mrs Gillian Frances Hillier. Formerly Deputy director, Free Schools (North), University Technical Colleges and Studio Schools Capital, Education Funding Agency. For services to Education. (Sheffield, South Yorkshire)

Mrs Geraldine Lesley Howley. Chief executive Officer, Incommunities. For services to Housing, Young People and the community in Bradford. (Bradford, West Yorkshire)

Mrs Susan Bridget McDermott. National director and Non-Executive director, Rainbows Bereavement Support GB. For services to Education. (Doncaster, South Yorkshire)

Professor Colin Mellors. For services to Economic Development in Yorkshire. (Ilkley, West Yorkshire)

Anthony Stacey. Chief executive South Yorkshire Housing Association and Chair, Placeshapers Group of Housing Associations. For services to Housing. (Sheffield, South Yorkshire)

Gerald Edwin Yates. President National Conservative Convention. For voluntary political services. (West Yorkshire)

Dr Edward Max Ziff. Chairman Town Centre Securities. For services to the Economy and the community in Leeds. (Leeds, West Yorkshire)

ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE
MBE
Mrs Julie Ann Allen. Headteacher, Birkwood Primary School, Barnsley. For services to Education. (Wakefield, West Yorkshire)

Mrs Shazia Azhar. Member, Diverse Leaders Network. For services to Education. (Huddersfield, West Yorkshire)

John Beresford. Volunteer Show Racism the Red Card Campaign. For services to Education. (Sheffield, South Yorkshire)

Dean Robert Bolton. Director Eye Watch Security Ltd. For services to Business and the community in Scunthorpe. (Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire)

Junier Browne. Formerly Environment and Business Senior Advisor Environment Agency. For services to the Environment, Diversity and the community in Leeds. (Leeds, West Yorkshire)

Dr John Buttrick. Formerly director and Honorary president Hull Children's University. For services to Children in Hull. (Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire)

Mrs Margaret Anne Calland. For services to the community in Thorpe Hesley, South Yorkshire.

Ms Aqila Choudhry. For public and political service. (Leeds, West Yorkshire)

Kevin Christopher Clancy. Formerly head of Construction York College. For services to Further Education. (Leeds, West Yorkshire)

Barrie Cottingham. For services to the Boys and Girls Clubs in South Yorkshire. (Barnsley, South Yorkshire)

Michael John Davies. For services to Business and Disadvantaged Children in North Yorkshire. (Ilkley, West Yorkshire)

Mrs Natalie Dawn Gilmour. For services to Women's Rugby League. (Rotherham, South Yorkshire)

Derek Groves. Physical Education Specialist HM Prison Hull. For services to HM Prison Service and to Paralympic Sport. (Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire)

Mrs Dorothy Haw. For services to the community in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. (Sheffield, South Yorkshire)

Mrs Barbara Anne Hodkinson. Founder, Butterfly Scheme, Yorkshire. For services to People with Dementia. (Leeds, West Yorkshire)

Lee Hough. Advanced Nurse Practitioner The White Rose Surgery, West Yorkshire. For services to Nursing. (Wakefield, West Yorkshire)

Dr Shah Noor Khan. For services to the Muslim community and Community Cohesion. (Leeds, West Yorkshire)

Ernest Ian Lindley. Foster Carer Doncaster. For services to Children and Families. (Doncaster, South Yorkshire)

Ms Susan Lister. For services to Equality Diversity and the Arts in Yorkshire. (York, North Yorkshire)

Mrs Sandra Elizabeth Major. Formerly Senior Caseworker to Jo Cox, MP For parliamentary services and service to the community in Batley and Spen, West Yorkshire. (West Yorkshire)

Professor Jane Elizabeth Nixon. Deputy director Clinical Trials Research Unit, University of Leeds. For services to Health Research. (Bingley, West Yorkshire)

Mrs Jacqueline Catherine Scott. For services to Children and the community in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. (Sheffield, South Yorkshire)

The Reverend Canon Anthony Michael Shepherd. For services to the Church and the community in Harrogate North Yorkshire. (Harrogate, North Yorkshire)

Miss Ruby Smith. For services to Charitable Fundraising and Young and Elderly Vulnerable People in Sheffield South Yorkshire. (Sheffield, South Yorkshire)

Mrs Alison Sykes. For services to Troubled Families in Dearne, South Yorkshire. (Rotherham, South Yorkshire)

Robert David Uttley. For services to the community in Calder Valley and Todmorden West Yorkshire. (Todmorden, West Yorkshire)

Mrs Dawn McCarthy-Simpson. Director, Producers Alliance for Cinema and TV. For services to Exports. (Brough, East Riding of Yorkshire)

BRITISH EMPIRE MEDAL
BEM
Ajaz Ahmed. Mentor Mosaic Network and Council Member / Advisory Board Member, Huddersfield University. For services to Young People. (Huddersfield, West Yorkshire)

Mrs Noor Jahan Ali. Senior Buying manager, World Foods, Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc. For services to Diversity in the Retail Industry. (Leeds, West Yorkshire)

Richard Frank Barugh. For services to the community in Easingwold North Yorkshire.

Mrs Valerie Jean Bell. For services to the community in Huddersfield and Kirklees, West Yorkshire. (Huddersfield, West Yorkshire)

Roger John Burnett. For services to the community in Scarborough. (Malton, North Yorkshire)

Ashley Norman Jackson. Landscape Watercolourist. For services to Art. (Holmfirth, West Yorkshire)

Mrs Ibolya Violet Knill. For services to Holocaust Education and Interfaith Cohesion. (Leeds, West Yorkshire)

Dr Rudolf Oscar Leavor. For services to the Jewish community and Interfaith Relations in Bradford West Yorkshire. (Bradford, West Yorkshire)

Harry Lodge. President and chairman Wakefield Angling Club, and Executive Committee Member, Newmillerdam Country Park. For services to Angling. (Wakefield, West Yorkshire)

John Bernard George Marsden. For services to the community in Tickhill South Yorkshire. (Doncaster, South Yorkshire)

William John Mulroe. For services to charity and the community in Featherstone West Yorkshire. (Pontefract, West Yorkshire)

John Henry Paterson (Johnny Pat). For services to Charitable Fundraising and the community in Hull East Riding of Yorkshire.

Mrs Judith Elizabeth Powell. For services to Operation Christmas Child, Meltham, West Yorkshire. (Holmfirth, West Yorkshire)

Mrs Teresa Maria Smith. Chair and Trustee, Sheffield Unit. For voluntary service to the Sea Cadet Corps. (Sheffield, South Yorkshire)

Mark Richard Stockdale. Volunteer Hull Children's University. For services to Education. (Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire)

Mrs Pauline Anne Sykes. For services to the community in Rawcliffe, East Riding of Yorkshire. (Goole, East Riding of Yorkshire)

Miss Marie Taylor. Area Standard Bearer Royal Naval Association. For services to Veterans and the community in York. (York, North Yorkshire)

Mrs Bessie Underwood. For services to Elderly People in Castleton, North Yorkshire. (Whitby, North Yorkshire)

Martin Charles Windle. For services to Football and the community. (Sheffield, South Yorkshire)

QUEEN'S POLICE MEDAL
QPM
Mrs Karen Warner. Detective Inspector, North Yorkshire Police.