Lisa Potts
Encyclopedia
Lisa Potts GM
(married name Webb) is a former nursery
teacher
noted for saving her school children's lives from a machete
attack by a man with severe paranoid
schizophrenia
on July 8, 1996 at the St Luke's Primary School in Blakenhall
, Wolverhampton
, West Midlands
, England
. Her arm was almost severed in the attack and four children were injured. Potts, who was 21 years old at the time, also suffered severe cuts to her head, back, and both arms. In 1997, Queen Elizabeth II
presented Potts with the George Medal
for saving the children's lives despite her being injured. Her attacker, Horrett Campbell, was sent to a secure mental hospital indefinitely, and remains there more than a decade after the crimes.
Potts suffered severe scarring, depression
and post-traumatic stress disorder
and was awarded £68,000 compensation more than four years after the attack. The level of compensation was widely criticised as inadequate, especially compared to high libel
payouts around the same time. Potts subsequently worked as a counsellor and in 2001 started a charity, Believe To Achieve, based in schools in Wolverhampton. The charity aims to encourage independence and enhance self-esteem in children.
Potts published her story as an autobiography entitled Behind the Smile in 1998. The foreword was written by Cherie Blair
.
George Medal
The George Medal is the second level civil decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth.The GM was instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI. At this time, during the height of The Blitz, there was a strong desire to reward the many acts of civilian courage...
(married name Webb) is a former nursery
Nursery school
A nursery school is a school for children between the ages of one and five years, staffed by suitably qualified and other professionals who encourage and supervise educational play rather than simply providing childcare...
teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
noted for saving her school children's lives from a machete
Machete
The machete is a large cleaver-like cutting tool. The blade is typically long and usually under thick. In the English language, an equivalent term is matchet, though it is less commonly known...
attack by a man with severe paranoid
Paranoia
Paranoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...
schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
on July 8, 1996 at the St Luke's Primary School in Blakenhall
Blakenhall
Blakenhall is a ward in Wolverhampton, England.-Toponymy and history:Blakenhall's name, according to topynmists comes from the Old English 'blæc', meaning 'black' or dark coloured, & 'halh' meaning 'nook' or 'corner'...
, Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
, West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Her arm was almost severed in the attack and four children were injured. Potts, who was 21 years old at the time, also suffered severe cuts to her head, back, and both arms. In 1997, Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
presented Potts with the George Medal
George Medal
The George Medal is the second level civil decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth.The GM was instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI. At this time, during the height of The Blitz, there was a strong desire to reward the many acts of civilian courage...
for saving the children's lives despite her being injured. Her attacker, Horrett Campbell, was sent to a secure mental hospital indefinitely, and remains there more than a decade after the crimes.
Potts suffered severe scarring, depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
and post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Posttraumaticstress disorder is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that results in psychological trauma. This event may involve the threat of death to oneself or to someone else, or to one's own or someone else's physical, sexual, or psychological integrity,...
and was awarded £68,000 compensation more than four years after the attack. The level of compensation was widely criticised as inadequate, especially compared to high libel
Slander and libel
Defamation—also called calumny, vilification, traducement, slander , and libel —is the communication of a statement that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government, or nation a negative image...
payouts around the same time. Potts subsequently worked as a counsellor and in 2001 started a charity, Believe To Achieve, based in schools in Wolverhampton. The charity aims to encourage independence and enhance self-esteem in children.
Potts published her story as an autobiography entitled Behind the Smile in 1998. The foreword was written by Cherie Blair
Cherie Blair
Cherie Blair , known professionally as Cherie Booth QC, is a British barrister working in the legal system of England and Wales. She is married to the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair; the couple have three sons and one daughter...
.
Books by Lisa Potts
- Thank You God: Book of Children's Prayers (editor) (1997) Hodder Children's Books, London ISBN 0340709812
- Behind the Smile: My story by Lisa Potts (1998) Hodder & StoughtonHodder & StoughtonHodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.-History:The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged fourteen, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publisher for the Congregational Union...
, London ISBN 0340721480 - Heroes for a Day (2000) Hodder & Stoughton, London ISBN 034074586X