CHRISTA ACKROYD Let’s hear it for the unselfish bravery of so many strong women

IMUST have missed the memo which declared that actresses are now actors and heroines are now heroes, but no matter what they are called in today’s parlance heroes of the female variety definitely do exist. And they come in all shapes and sizes. This week I want to pay tribute to some of them.

Over the past couple of years our police service has quite rightly been put under the spotlight and I was among those who declared that our trust in those whose job it is to serve and protect has been seriously compromised. And for me, the proud daughter of a police officer, it took a lot to finally admit that it was more than a few bad apples which threatened to rot the whole barrel. At the end of last year 1,000 officers in the London force alone were either suspended or on restricted duties and the number of complaints of alleged misconduct had doubled.

From the rookie special who told a gospel singer she couldn’t sing church songs outside a church, to the failure to root out the dangerous misogyny within the ranks of the Met (and, I may add, other forces) which led to murder, rape and the sharing of sexist material on group chats, our faith in the law enforcers has been dented, to say the least.

Yet it was the act of one female officer on the other side of the world that reminded me in an instant of the difficult role they undertake when they sign up to wear the badge of office.

When I heard of the horrific attack in Sydney last weekend I knew in an instant where it had taken place.

I have been to that shopping centre in Bondi with my daughter and granddaughter and the first thing I did was to contact them to make sure they were safe. They were.

As is the way of modern television journalism, within minutes the carnage that ensued was being beamed across the world. Hundreds of people fleeing the scene screaming or in tears as a lone assassin stalked the floors stabbing those in his wake. Most of those who were targeted were women – with only one exception, the poor security guard who had sought and won asylum from another country and tried to tackle the madman on his first day on the job. He paid with his life. And let us remember him when we are labelling all who seek sanctuary from abroad as wasters and scoundrels.

But it was the bravery of the lone female police officer that has stayed with me this week and reminded me that when chaos or danger ensues it is the job of the police to run towards it as others run in the opposite direction.

Amy Scott was alone when she approached the murderer, challenging him to drop his weapon. As he raised his knife towards her she shot him dead. And I want us to think of the impact that will have had on her, a point recognised by the family of the man who murdered six and injured 12 more including a tiny baby, when they said they hoped she was coping. But how can she be? She may have been doing her job but what she was called upon to do that day was to take the life of another human being to save others.

Not only that, but she tried to save that human being too, giving him CPR until help arrived. The devastation, the destruction of so many lives will stay with the families of those killed and injured for ever. I still can’t forget the interview with the two young men who literally caught the injured baby after a dying mother tried to save her precious child.

But the bravery of that lone female officer is a reminder of all we ask our police officers to do in the line of duty. And that goes for other emergency services

too.

Much closer to home, a six-yearold girl also became an unlikely hero. Olivia Patterson was playing with her friends near to her home in Ricall in North Yorkshire when she saw smoke billowing from her house. Neighbours had thought the family was out as there was no car on the drive. But Olivia knew otherwise. Instinctively this little girl ran into the burning house shouting “Mum, wake up” so saving her mummy and her brother and sister aged just one and two. No wonder she is being hailed a hero. But it is the fact that her grandma told us that Olivia has been diagnosed with ADHD that struck a chord with me. That little girl has been diagnosed with a condition that is challenging. It makes her stand out from other little girls. Perhaps in the past she has even been judged because of it. Yet equally it is entirely possible that because of her difference she acted in a way that saved her family’s lives. What an incredible child, what an incredible act of heroism from one so young. No wonder they are proud of her.

Not all heroines wear capes. I have come across so many in my career who are young girls or women who are ordinary by day but with the ability to afford extraordinary change to the betterment of us all.

I met quite by chance two of them this week when I bumped into Angela and Chris, two of the original Calendar Girls at a hotel in Wetherby and was reminded again of their incredible achievements.

When I first met the women from Rylstone in the Yorkshire Dales they were launching their famous calendar. Their naked but discreet photographs changed so much.

Firstly, they completely challenged the idea that women of a certain age should not be seen in all their glory. Then they changed the image of the Women’s Institute from jam and Jerusalem which led to a surge in interest from women of all ages. Above all, they shone a spotlight on blood cancer, a condition which Angela’s late husband was suffering from.

It was 25 years this last week since they launched that calendar. Their aim was to raise £5,000 for comfortable seating in a hospital waiting room.

The total stands today at £6m and still they are all going strong, the eldest being 90 years old, having spawned 1,000 calendars of the same genre, a Disney film, a stage play and a Gary Barlow musical.

All from the simple desire to help others. I send my love to them all. They are and always will be amongst the greatest women I have ever met.

Not all of us can change the world but as women we can change someone’s world.

We are not all of us asked to commit to an act of unselfish bravery but we can all be brave and unselfish when it comes to holding up other women and using what we have to show we are a force to be reckoned with individually and collectively.

Whether they are now dubbed hero or heroine, there are remarkable women out there many of whom do not ever hit the headlines. As the saying goes: Strong women. May we be one and may we raise them. You are my heroes. And always will be.