Today is St George’s Day. St George has been the Patron Saint of England since 1350 when Edward III chose him for his bravery in the face of terrible suffering.

It was thought he would inspire the stoicism of the English at a time when life was hard for most.

Most people associate St George with slaying the dragon, but while this is likely to be nothing more than fanciful storytelling to enhance his legend, the dragon was used in the Middle Ages to represent the Devil.

Not much is known about St George, but historians believe he was a high-ranking Roman soldier who was killed around 303 AD.

St George earned his brave reputation for surviving terrible torture at the hands of Emperor Diocletian after he refused to renounce his faith. He was eventually beheaded in Palestine and there is a church dedicated to him in Rome.

His story continues to inspire people across the globe and he is the patron saint of a number of countries as well as our own, including Portugal.

So it is perhaps fitting that at a time when we are showing great fortitude and sacrifice in our national battle against coronavirus we should remember our patron saint.

It is impossible not to be touched by the pictures of our frontline NHS and care worker staff who are dealing with the effects of Covid-19 on a daily basis.

These staff are our modern-day St Georges and I would like to pay my own personal tribute to them and to the workers who have sadly passed away while trying to save others.

We will not forget any of them.

It may seem a long way off, but there will come a day when we will wrench back our freedom from this epidemic and the relief will be felt by communities across the country.

Some of us may have lost family and friends, our emergency service personnel will be exhausted, we will have learnt to live more frugally and to be more grateful for life’s small mercies and the one thing I am sure of is that our community spirit will be enhanced.

After taking the difficult and unprecedented decision to cancel the gun salute in celebration of her actual 94th birthday the Queen said: “I hope in the years to come everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge and those who come after us will say that the Britons of this generation were as strong as any.

"That the attributes of self-discipline, of quiet, good-humoured resolve and of fellow feeling still characterise this country.”

I am proud of the work we as a community have achieved during the last few weeks and I have been bowled over by the thousands of volunteers and helpers who have come forward to support their communities.

You are all playing an important part in this national effort. Thank you.