London: Grace O'Malley-Kumar, the British-Indian teenager stabbed to death while trying to save her friend during a knife attack in Nottingham over two years ago, has been honored with the George Medal – one of Britain's highest civilian honors for acts of bravery.
Grace, 19, was returning to her University of Nottingham with friend Barnaby Webber, also 19, when accosted by knife-wielding Valdo Calocane in June 2023. They were both killed in the attack by Calocane, who was later sentenced to a mental health order to be detained in a high-security hospital.
Tributes had poured in amid calls for rewarding the bravery of the young medical student who was studying to become a doctor like her parents, Dr Sanjoy Kumar and Dr Sinead O'Malley.
“I want to pay tribute to all of the recipients, including Grace O’Malley Kumar, who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect her friend. Her legacy will live on as a powerful example of heroism,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement announcing the George Medal, conferred posthumously and to be handed over to Grace's family.
Her family has since established the Grace O'Malley-Kumar Foundation to champion and support young people and communities through sport, mental health, and education.
The George Medal, a silver disc on a ribbon, is Britain's second-highest civilian bravery award after the George Cross and is awarded for "conspicuous gallantry not in the presence of the enemy".
