Medal honours Grace’s 'heroism' in knife attack

A STUDENT who was stabbed to death in the Nottingham attacks while trying to protect her friend has been posthumously awarded the George Medal for her “exceptional courage in the face of extreme danger”.

- LAURA ELSTON

> Grace O’Malley-Kumar, left, tried to save friend Barnaby Webber, right, in a knife attack in Nottingham in 2023

Grace O’Malley-Kumar, 19, was killed when she intervened and sought to try to save Barnaby Webber, also 19 and from Taunton, after he was attacked while they walked home from a night out in 2023.

‘The Nottingham University medical student is one of 20 people honoured in the latest Gallantry Awards list.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer paid tribute to Grace, saying her legacy would live on as a “powerful example of heroism” and that she made the “ultimate sacrifice” to protect her friend.

Others honoured include Richard O'Brien, who received the King’s

Gallantry Medal for stopping his car to intervene in the stabbing of a woman and restrain the attacker in Barnet, north London, in 2021.