Wales’ real life heroes: Stories of courage and compassion during an extraordinary year
From the shoppers who risked their lives during a deadly knife attack, to the care home staff who gave up everything to protect their residents.
These are just some of the remarkable achievements celebrated in a special programme tonight on ITV Cymru Wales.
Inspiring Wales: St David Awards 2021 shines a spotlight on people from across the nation who have been recognised for their selfless acts of bravery, perseverance and community spirit.
Now in their eighth year, the St David Awards honour the very best of Wales, with all nominees chosen by members of the public. Ruth Dodsworth, who hosted this year’s ceremony, has met the winners of 2021 to hear their personal stories.
They’ve all gone that extra mile to help others - and for many of them, it’s been an emotional journey.
Among the winners are three strangers, brought together by their bravery.
John Rees, Lisa Way and Ayette Bounouri stepped in when a woman was attacking shoppers with a knife at a grocery store in Penygraig in the Rhondda Valley. 88-year-old John lost his life in the attack and Lisa suffered stab wounds.
“I was in the queue to pay and I could hear a commotion and people shouting: she’s got a knife, she’s got a knife,” Lisa recalls.
“Ayette was protecting John with a crate. I was grabbing the girl. Then she stabbed me in the neck. I could feel the blood running down my neck and I feared for my life.”
Detective Chief Inspector Mark O’Shea of South Wales Police said the actions of the three customers was one of the “bravest things that I’ve witnessed. I can’t praise the three of them highly enough".
Lisa and Ayette said the award is in honour of John’s courage and sacrifice.
"There's still sadness,” reflects Ayette, “but it's in recognition of what he did that day. It would have been so much worse. It allowed others to seek help and shelter at the back of the store.”
Other winners include 18-year-old Molly Fenton, who won this year’s Young Person Award.
She founded the Love Your Period campaign which aims to end period poverty and social stigma for school pupils all over Wales. It’s already helped thousands of people.
“So many people find the topic of menstruation just inappropriate to talk about,” said Molly.
“I know I couldn’t just sit back and let this happen. I had to act to change people’s perspectives.”
During the pandemic, Molly has made sure that none of her fellow students struggled to afford sanitary products.
“Even though schools were closed I was personally making deliveries to students in my local area who I knew would be struggling at this time.
"It meant that they were able to access products at a time when people were losing their jobs, and when it was harder to access these products than ever.”
There was a new category in this year’s St David Awards, for Critical Worker. It was introduced to reflect the vital role that key workers in Wales have played during the pandemic.
The award was won by the staff of the Cherry Tree care home in Wrexham.
During the first wave of coronavirus last year, nine members of staff moved into the care home for six weeks, so they could look after their residents and protect them from the spread of Covid. For the carers, it meant leaving their own families and loved ones.
Joanne Mannering was one of those who volunteered to live-in at Cherry Tree.
“I just said yes straight away,” she remembers.
“Cherry Tree is my life so I would have done anything at that time to protect the residents. We provided everything that they needed. There was a real team spirit. We were all in it together.
“And if we had to do it again, we would.”
You can see more remarkable stories from this year’s winners in Inspiring Wales: St David Awards 2021 on Monday 31st May at 10:15pm on ITV Cymru Wales.
After broadcast, it will also be available on catch up here.