'Humbled': Surgeon who treated children in Southport terror attack recognised in King’s Birthday Honours list
The 2026 King’s Honours List is out and there’s a special nod for a surgeon who treated children at the most terrible of times.
A surgeon who treated children injured in the Southport knife attack has said she is “humbled” to be recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours list.
Vittoria Bucknall, a consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeon at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, receives a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to children and young people.
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Her work is said to have been crucial to the survival of several children following the attack in July 2024, including the seven-year-old daughter of the person who nominated her for the honour.
Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Bebe King, six, were killed in the incident at a Taylor Swift dance workshop, while eight children and two adults were injured.
Axel Rudakubana was jailed for a minimum of 52 years for the murders of the three girls and attempted murders of 10 other people.
The Scotland Office said the nominator’s daughter was airlifted to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool with more than 30 stab wounds and a major haemorrhage following the attack.
She needed life-saving stabilisation and two demanding six-hour surgeries led by Ms Bucknall and other surgeons.
Ms Bucknall’s work is said to have been instrumental in saving the function of the child’s arms and fingers, which allowed her to recover to the extent that she can now once again cartwheel, dance, draw and write.
The surgeon, who lives in Edinburgh, said: “I’m absolutely humbled and overwhelmed to be receiving the medal.
“It is a little surreal and I am very, very honoured.”
The nominator said the care provided by medics went far beyond a normal healthcare role, noting the challenges were akin to dealing with a “combat situation”.
Ms Bucknall showed exceptional commitment, providing continuous support to the family, visiting the girl in intensive care and as an outpatient, the nominator added.