Tony Kemp, who was working with the British Red Cross last August, was presented with a Royal Humane Society (RHS) Testimonial on Vellum by HRH Princess Alexandra, President of the Society.

Tony, Principle Lecturer and Director of Post Qualifying Healthcare Education, said: “It was a tremendous honour. I felt very humbled. Others receiving similar awards that day had amazing stories which included a police officer who had returned to a burning, smoke-filled building five times to carry out a number of rescues, others had grappled with a knife wielding assailant.

“Princess Alexandra was most gracious. She recognised not only that we remain affected but also that our families are very much part of the ongoing healing process. She spent considerable time talking to us as she made the awards.”

RHS awards are made for acts of bravery in the saving of human life and for effecting successful resuscitations. The Testimonial on Vellum is awarded where someone has put themselves in considerable danger to save, or attempt to save, someone else.

On the day of the Shoreham Airshow disaster in which 11 people were killed and 16 were injured, Tony responded to the still-burning vintage jet which had crashed after reports from the fire service that pilot Andy Hill was still alive. Together with Dr Karen Eastman, Tony provided life-saving medical assistance, and went on to treat other casualties.

He said: “I did what I did with clarity of thought and whilst recognising the dangers involved did all I could to mitigate those issues for myself and those around me.

“The incident has quite definitely changed me. The sights and sounds of that day were deeply troubling and come on top of many other intrusive sights and sounds from other incidents across the years.  An immediate effect is to go right back to basics and understand that life is precious and within that my family and friends are vitally important.

“I am a Christian and that was fundamental in helping me come to terms with both the very great tragedy of the day and my own reaction to it. I’ve had amazing support from my family, my Head of Department and other colleagues as well as from those who were working with me on the day.“

Tony has written about his experiences and spoken widely. He continues to provide prehospital emergency care. In the next few weeks he will be providing senior clinical cover for an international airshow on the south coast and routinely provides match day crowd cover for Millwall football club.