St George's Day – Its Personal Significance

From the tales of a knight battling dragons to the grand feasts, the narrative of St George is as legendary as the iconic white and red flag. However, akin to many early saints, the precise details of his life remain shrouded in mystery.

In commemoration of St George’s Day on April 23rd, we engaged in a conversation with Susan Lousada, the Lord Lieutenant of Bedfordshire, Her Majesty’s personal representative within the county, to explore the significance of this day and delve into some quickfire questions.

Susan Lousada, who assumed the role in 2022, shared her reflections on St George’s Day, stating, “It reminds me of those whom we honor, tracing back to 1940 when King George VI established an award for acts of the utmost heroism or courage amidst extreme peril. The George Cross, named after the king, bears the likeness of St George slaying the dragon. Moreover, the image of St George adorns many memorials erected to honor those who perished during the First World War.”

The flag itself is believed to have been utilized as early as the 10th century. It was widely believed that knights bearing the standard of St George would be safeguarded in battle.

Transitioning to more contemporary English heroes, the Lord Lieutenant singled out Alexander Fleming as her top choice. She recounted, “A serendipitous occurrence in a London laboratory in 1928 altered the trajectory of medicine when Alexander Fleming, a bacteriologist at St. Mary’s Hospital, returned from a vacation to find a mold contaminating a special bacteria-growing plate, resulting in an area where bacteria failed to proliferate. After isolating the mold and identifying it as belonging to the Penicillium genus, Fleming extracted a substance from the mold, dubbing its active agent ‘penicillin.’ This heralded the discovery of antibiotics, a medication that has saved innumerable lives.”