The founder of the Oliver King Foundation received an OBE for his services to charity
Mark, Joanne and Ben at Windsor Castle today holding a framed photo of Oliver King (Picture: Instagram/@OliverKingFoundation)
Inspiring Liverpool dad Mark King said he was honoured to receive an OBE at Windsor Castle today (Wednesday, November 12). The campaigner received the award for his services to charity for his work as the founder of the Oliver King Foundation.
Mark set up the foundation in honour of his late son, Oliver, who suffered a cardiac arrest aged 12 during a swimming lesson at King David High School in Wavertree in 2011 and died from sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS). Mark, from Childwall, has since devoted his efforts to improve access to defibrillators and the campaign has led to the government ensuring every state school in England has access to one of the life-saving machines.
A total of 7,000 defibrillators have been given out and more than 80 lives have been saved due to the work of the Oliver King Foundation. Mark was honoured to receive the OBE from King Charles today and announced plans to open the UK’s first cardiac testing and prevention centre in Liverpool.
He attended the ceremony along with his wife Joanne and son, Ben. They shared a picture after the ceremony holding the awards and a picture of Oliver in the grounds of Windsor Castle.
The post was shared on the charity’s Instagram page and was captioned: “Mark King OBE!
“Today, Mark was officially presented with his OBE by King Charles a truly special moment recognising his incredible dedication and tireless work through The Oliver King Foundation. Now he’s off to The Ivy to celebrate with his family.”
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In a statement on ITV News after he received the award, he said: “It’s an incredible honour to receive this recognition, but more importantly it marks a new chapter in our mission to protect young hearts.
“The UK’s first cardiac testing and prevention centre will provide families with access to early screening, expert care and vital reassurance.
“Our goal is simple – to prevent avoidable tragedies and give every young person the chance to live a full healthy life.
“This OBE belongs to our Oliver and to the people of Liverpool. Losing Oliver changed my family’s life forever, but the support from our community from the very beginning of The Oliver King Foundation has helped turn a personal tragedy into a movement that’s saving lives across the country.”
Speaking to the ECHO in August, Mark spoke of his surprise when he was told he was going to receive an OBE. He said: “Our Ollie was only with us for 12 years, but he never let us down once, and this is us not letting his name down.
“I’m not one for awards, I just want to march on. I’m just a dad, that’s it, I’m a dad. But for an OBE to come through – I was cartwheeling in the garden.”
Since the foundation was established in 2012, Mark has personally delivered all the defibrillators to schools, businesses, and sporting venues as far north as Stornoway and as far south as Portsmouth.
Speaking about the lives his work has helped save, he said: “When you get the emails through from the parents, I still get the same feeling as though it’s the first one. I know it’s not a tally, but a life has been saved – maybe our Oliver’s life would have been saved if someone had done what we’re doing now.”
He said the lives had been saved in Oliver’s name, adding: “Not mine, I’m only carrying his torch.”
The foundation, which also provides training to use the machines, has received support from former Liverpool footballer Jamie Carragher and politicians including Liverpool Garston MP Maria Eagle, Lord Mike Storey, and Lord Stuart Polak.