Grace OMalleyKumar to be posthumously awarded George Medal

Grace OMalleyKumar, a 19-year-old medical student at the University of Nottingham, will be posthumously awarded the George Medal for intervening to protect a friend during a deadly knife attack in Nottingham in the early hours of June 13, 2023. The award, made on the recommendation of King Charles, recognises her actions as an act of conspicuous gallantry in extreme danger.

OMalleyKumar and her friend Barnaby Webber, also 19, were stabbed as they walked home from a night out. Both died of their injuries. The attacker, Valdo Calocane, later fatally stabbed 65-year-old school caretaker Ian Coates and then stole his van, which he used to strike and injure three other people before his arrest. Calocane admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility and attempted murder and was detained under an indefinite hospital order.

Court testimony and the official citation for the medal describe OMalleyKumar stepping in to shield Webber and attempting to fend off the assailant. Prosecutors said she pushed the attacker away from Webber and tried to protect him before she was stabbed multiple times. Her medal citation states, "Grace's exceptional courage in the face of extreme danger serves...