A ‘SUPERGRAN’ from Barnsley who has travelled to war-torn Gaza twice to save people’s lives has been praised by King Charles - but she admits her family wish she’d have taken up knitting instead.
Chris Hunter is a theatre nurse who has worked with Manchester-based frontline medical charity UK-Med as part of the government’s humanitarian response to the crisis.
She has been helping save lives while on the dangerous deployments to the area, which has been decimated by Israeli-led attacks.
Chris said: “I know my family would prefer I just put my feet up and started knitting or something - but I’d far rather help stitch up patients who need our help in Gaza.
“Even if I was not ‘nannan’ to my three grandchildren, it’s only natural my family would be concerned for my safety, but they know that once I’ve made up my mind there’s no point trying to change it.
“I know I am elderly and aged but I just feel as though I’ve got so much to offer.
“I have a lot of experience and skills which are best used supporting people who really need our help in Gaza.”
Chris served with the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps for 32 years and still works as a theatre nurse at the Diana Princess of Wales Hospital.
She has served with the military in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan but insists the scale of human suffering on the ground in Gaza made it her toughest deployment.
She said: “I remember we had an 18-month-old girl come in and her left hand had been blown off.
“Two or three fingers on her right hand were gone.
“She had a fractured leg and little bits of shrapnel imbedded in her head.
“Her mother and father had been killed in the same incident so she was being looked after by her sister who was only about 14 or 15.
“The mass casualty incidents were relentless.
“No sooner had you got through one lot of patients, there was another load of ambulances.
“It was continuous, a conveyor belt of carnage.
“There was a young girl at the field hospital came in with a blast injury down her whole side and the top part of her leg.
“Just this huge big chunk of flesh was missing.
“We managed to pull it together and she came in almost daily for dressings and eventually we got it sealing over.
“Some of the old men that had had their legs completely blown off to the extent that there was literally just nothing there except bits of skin hanging off their lower abdomen, it’s amazing they survived.”
And despite being in her 70s, Chris is showing no signs of slowing down just yet.
“I’m awaiting news from UK-Med about another deployment to Gaza or Ukraine,” she added.
“I have no plans to put my feet up.
“You are in that wooden box for a long time when you die, so I am trying to make the most of being fit and healthy.”
King Charles has recognised Chris’ work helping establish two FCDO-funded emergency field hospitals - based in Al Mawasi and Deir El Balah - which have treated more than 300,000 patients.
Chris said: “I don’t like the word ‘hero’ but meeting the King was a wonderful surprise and such an honour.
“It’s taken me a lifetime to get there.
“I actually thought the email telling me about the Humanitarian Medal was a hoax and someone was pulling my leg.
“The King asked my granddaughter Alexis what she wants to do with her life and she said ‘I want to be a nurse’ and the King said ‘make sure she makes it’.
“My daughter’s just qualified as a nurse as well so maybe they’ll both follow in my footsteps.
“The King was very easy to talk to and interested to hear what the situation is like on the ground in Gaza.
“When I told him the infection rates are so bad that you can smell patients before you see them, he pulled a face at the thought.”
Foreign Secretary David Lammy added: “This new medal recognises the incredible dedication and selfless service of individuals on the frontline of the UK’s responses to some of the world’s most devastating crises.
“I am delighted the first tranche of awards will recognise members of the UK government’s emergency deployment teams, for their brave work in Libya, Morocco and Gaza.
“The international search and rescue team and emergency medical team are made up of expert firefighters and medics from across the UK, who travel to the most challenging of environments to save lives.”
