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ONE PAPER ... ALL THE NEWS from Dewsbury, Batley, Ossett, Mirfield, Liversedge, Birstall, Heckmondwike, Cleckheaton & Spen Valley
Friday August 18, 2017
12 MONTHS
No. 803
GUARANTEE
50p
FAREWELL BERNARD... ... and thank you for your humility, Did you hear your courage and for your sacrifice the people sing? Review - p12
A-Level joy for teens p3
By Staff Reporters THE PENSIONER hailed a hero for trying to save MP Jo Cox “personified the best of our country”, according to her husband. Tributes have poured in this week after Bernard Kenny, who was awarded the George Medal for bravery, passed away peacefully at his home in Birstall. He had been diagnosed with cancer in June. The 79-year-old sustained serious injuries when he was stabbed in the stomach as he attempted to save Mrs Cox from right-wing extremist Thomas Mair last June. Mr Kenny’s son, Phil Kenny, said his father died at 3.15am with his beloved wife Doreen by his side. He said: “He went very peacefully and he was not suffering. He wanted to die at home and he did so.” Phil, who had taught Mrs Cox when she was at Heckmondwike Grammar School, also commented that the bravery his father showed in trying to protect Mrs Cox was typical of the former miner. He ran from his car in a desperate effort to tackle her attacker after he saw her collapse outside Birstall Library. Mair stabbed him with a teninch blade, piercing his liver and narrowly missing his heart and other major organs. Mr Kenny was awarded the George Medal on the first
anniversary of the MP’s death, following an online petition that received over 80,000 signatures in support of him receiving the honour. His son said: “It was a very special moment when that was announced. He didn’t tell his family. He kept it a secret right up until the moment that it was revealed to the press. “We think it has to be presented by a member of the royal family so we expect he will receive it posthumously and probably Doreen will be presented with it.” Despite repeated requests Mr Kenny, who coincidentally shared the same birthday as Mrs Cox, never gave interviews to the media following the attack. Phil said: “My dad could have been on wall-to-wall TV but he chose not to. He was a very private, unassuming, family man. Stubborn, kind and fair. An excellent bloke.” Mr Kenny was a former member of the Gomersal Mines Rescue Team who tried to save victims of the Lofthouse mine disaster in 1973. After the attack, he was also made the guest of honour at a rugby match between Batley Bulldogs and Dewsbury Rams, where he laid a sunflower on the pitch in memory of Mrs Cox. The only time the media heard his story was when his police statement was read out at Mair’s trial at the Old Bailey. A jury heard Mr Kenny was waiting for his wife outside the
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HERO: Mr Bernard Kenny, who died this week