Back The Sun on Sunday’s campaign to honour hero PCs Wayne Marques and Charlie Guenigault who saved lives in London Bridge attack with George Cross
THE SUN on Sunday is today demanding that the hero police officers who tackled the London Bridge terrorists be awarded the George Cross – and YOU can help us do it.
PCs Wayne Marques, 38, and Charlie Guenigault, 25, put their lives on the line in an attempt to stop the three extremists’ murderous rampage.
Wayne had only a baton while Charlie, who was off-duty, took on the three knife-wielding attackers with his fists. But almost six months after the June 3 atrocity, neither man has been rewarded by the honours system.
We want the brave bobbies, who are still recovering, to get the highest decoration that can be given to non-military personnel — the George Cross. Our campaign has already been backed by the Police Federation and some of the scores of people they helped save.
Brett Freeman, 32, who was repeatedly stabbed by the terrorists, told us: “The Sun on Sunday campaign is brilliant. Those police officers risked their lives to save mine.
"I can’t think of anyone more deserving of a George Cross.”
The dad-of-four believes he would never have met baby daughter Tilly, who was born in July, were it not for their selfless actions.
He said: “Every time I look into little Tilly’s eyes I am reminded how lucky I am to be alive. Those men are heroes and it’s important we recognise what they did and give them the medals they deserve.”
Fellow survivor Kimberley Shearer, 28, from London, agrees. She said: “Many more would have died but for these men. The Sun on Sunday campaign is brilliant. I hope all your readers really get behind it. These men risked everything to save people like me.”
Click here to sign our petition
The George Cross, second only to the Victoria Cross, is given “for acts of the greatest heroism or for most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger”.
British Transport Police officer Wayne was armed only with a baton when he saw terrorists Youssef Zaghba, Khuram Butt and Rachid Redouane in fake suicide vests attacking revellers on Borough High Street close to the Thames.
Moments earlier they had torn across London Bridge in a rented Renault van, running people over.
Rather than wait for the armed response unit, Wayne charged at the men. He hit one with “everything I had as hard as I could . . . trying to go for a knockout blow”.
The terrorists rained down knife blows — one strike to his skull temporarily blinded Wayne — then fled to the pubs in Borough Market, where machine operator Brett, from South Ockendon, Essex, was drinking outside with some friends. Brett said: “All of a sudden people started running towards me. Some were throwing glasses and chairs at the terrorists.
“I ran but felt something go into my side. I was stabbed three times in the back and one punctured my lung. I fell and waited for them to finish me off but for some reason they stopped.”
That reason was off duty Met officer Charlie. He saved many lives by tackling the terrorists with his bare hands. He was stabbed in the head, back, leg and stomach.
Weeks later, when Brett returned to Kings College Hospital with a lung infection, he met the man who had saved his life.
He said: “I heard Charlie was still recovering so I went over. I tried to thank him. He said, ‘There was no way I was going to stand by and do nothing’. The man’s an absolute hero.” Someone who agrees is property developer Christina Schmid. Her husband, bomb disposal expert Olaf, was posthumously given the George Cross for bravery in Afghanistan.
Christina, 42, from Dorset, said: “I back your campaign. These men were going above and beyond, and the bravery they showed was exceptional. They deserve the George Cross.”
The Prime Minister has vowed to restore the integrity of the UK’s honours system so it “rewards genuine public service”. In the Conservative manifesto published earlier this year, Theresa May declared: “Public service is a noble vocation, one which we will celebrate.”
So come on, Mrs May, give Charlie and Wayne the George Cross they both so richly deserve.
Click here to sign our petition
Symbol of the highest esteem
KING George VI created the George Cross in 1940 to reward acts of bravery during World War Two.
The highest honour a non-military person can receive, it can be awarded posthumously.
For members of the Armed Forces it is second only to the Victoria Cross and is awarded for bravery “not in the face of the enemy”.
Past recipients include:
- Captain Roger Goad: The Met officer was killed aged 40 trying to defuse an IRA bomb in London in 1975. Awarded it in 1976, he was the last policeman to get the George Cross.
- Jack Bamford: He risked his life to save his two brothers from a fire at their Newthorpe home. Aged 15 he was the youngest recipient of the George Cross, in 1952.
- Violette Szabo: The British secret agent was posthumously given the George Cross for heroism during daring missions in Nazi-occupied France. Violette, 23, was tortured by the SS and executed at the Ravensbruck concentration camp, Germany, in 1945.
- Major Dominic Troulan: The retired Special Forces veteran last month became the first civilian recipient of the George Cross for 40 years. He saved up to 200 lives as armed al-Shabaab terrorists attacked the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2013.
- John Clements: The teacher from Welwyn Garden City got the medal after saving children from a fire at a ski resort in Italy in 1976. He repeatedly returned to rescue more kids before he was overcome by fumes and died.