Given the horrific events in south London on Wednesday, there could really only be one hero of this saddening and shockingly tragic week.
Hero for all time: Ingrid Loyau-Kennett being interviewed on television yesterday
Ingrid Loyau-Kennett is the mother-of-two, a scout leader who, on seeing the brutal madness on the streets of Woolwich, showed human kindness to the poor victim and utter bravery in approaching his attackers and reasoning with them to put down their bloody weapons and give themselves up.
Loyau-Kennett’s selfless actions in the midst of such mayhem should do much, at a time of despair, to restore our faith in people’s humanity.
Minutes before she was unwittingly thrust into the global spotlight, Loyau-Kennett had simply been travelling on a London bus. When the bus was stopped by the incident, she happened to be one of the first on the scene. Her first thoughts were not for her own safety, but to go to the stricken man on the road and see if she could help in any way.
Crouched over the body of the young soldier, Loyau-Kennett looked up. “I could see a butcher’s knife and an axe – that’s what he had – and blood. I thought, ‘What the heck?’ I thought obviously he was a bit excited and the thing was just to talk to him.”
To talk to him.
Someone is said to have once said, “Blessed are the peacemakers.”
We are all blessed to have someone such as Ingrid Loyau-Kennett in our midst.
Our previous heroes…
- Who is your choice as Inside Croydon Hero of the Week? It doesn’t need to be a sporting superstar, it could be your next-door neighbour, someone who has done hard work for the community, or just some human kindness.
- Send your nominations for this prize-less accolade to inside.croydon@btinternet.com with “Hero of the Week” in the subject field, and no more than 200 words on why you think they deserve recognition for the actions in the previous seven days. And please include a daytime contact phone number
Related articles
- Woolwich attack: Watch brave mum tell how she confronted terrorist after soldier had been hacked to death (mirror.co.uk)
- The heroine: Ingrid Loyau-Kennett confronted attackers (theglobeandmail.com)
- Cub Scout’s honour: Woolwich heroine Ingrid Loyau-Kennett shows that civic values are not dead (blogs.telegraph.co.uk)
- ‘You are going to lose’: mother’s bravery (smh.com.au)