A TRANSPORT for London (TfL) worker who helped victims of the Grenfell Tower fire has been awarded an MBE.

Natalie Gordon has been recognised as a Member of the British Empire (MBE) in the New Year Honours list for services to transport in London and the community.

Gordon, who works in TfL’s contact centre resolving customer queries and concerns and comes from Fulham, is being honoured for her dedication to providing outstanding customer service and working collaboratively with other organisations in the aftermath of the tragic Grenfell Tower fire in 2017. 

She “went above and beyond” to ensure TfL was able to give the best travel support to those affected by the fire in the days, weeks and months that followed, TfL said.

Soon after the incident, Gordon went straight to the Westway Centre, which was set up to support those affected. She found that many residents had lost their Oyster cards or other means of travelling around London, and some were being relocated to unfamiliar parts of the city. She led TfL’s response in providing residents with Oyster cards and travel passes so that they could travel between work, school, hospitals or temporary accommodation. 

As the TfL representative at the centre, Gordon relentless efforts made sure there was a seamless link with the many other organisations who were providing support. Working alongside the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, she formed and led a team of TfL volunteers, who provided face-to-face support, and set up a dedicated helpline to provide assistance with any travel related enquiries.

Gordon, team manager at TfL, said: “It is a privilege to receive this honour and to have been able to help those who needed support following the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower. We are all capable of making a difference and it was important to me to do to all that I could to support the community. I’d like to highlight the fact this was definitely a team effort and thank my colleagues who also put a lot of time and effort into helping the Grenfell community. I hope our work in some small way helped the community through what was an incredibly difficult and distressing time.”

Mike Brown MVO, London’s Transport Commissioner, said: “We will never forget the tragedy that occurred at Grenfell Tower and our thoughts go out to everyone affected. At a time of tragedy, many people came together to provide support in any way they could. Natalie was one of those people. She identified an area where TfL could help and worked tirelessly and selflessly to support people in their time of need. This recognition is truly well deserved.  Congratulations to Natalie, she is an inspiration to us all.”

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I’m really pleased that Natalie has been recognised for her work to support Grenfell Tower residents following the tragic fire. By enabling people to get around at such a traumatic and stressful time, Natalie is a great example of Londoners going above and beyond to help the community.”