Australian paramedics recognized for courage in treating wounded during Paris terror attacks

A married couple from the Australian state of Victoria have been honored with a Governor-General's medal for their heroism last year in treating the wounded during the Paris terror attacks.

The couple, Laura Mannes and William Harrison, both paramedics, were out for dinner while holidaying in the French capital last November when they heard gunshots and saw hundreds of people running past in panic.

With no knowledge of the Islamic State (IS) attack barely 100 meters away, the off-duty pair rushed Laura's parents (holidaying with them) and hundreds of panicked Parisians back to their apartment for safety before heading back to the carnage with towels and linen to help the critically injured.

"We didn't know anything, there was nothing on television as it was happening at the same time ... we didn't initially know what was going on and thought it was just a shooting like a gang shooting or something like that," Harrison told NewsCorp on Friday.

Their courageous deed on the night of the November 13 terror attacks had only previously been known to family, friends and the London Ambulance Service where they have been working in the past 18 months.

That all changed on Friday when the couple were surprised by Australia's Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove at their London workplace who presented them with an Office of the Governor-General's personal medallion.

Cosgrove praised the couple, who hail from the Mornington Peninsula, south of Melbourne, for "showing courage and professional skill" in aiding the terror victims.

Mannes told News Corp that receiving the medallion was "a lovely surpris" and"very humbling".

The Victorian couple, who got engaged in Paris earlier last year, don't know what happened to the injured victims who they treated, but are sure their aid would have helped.

Mannes said she believed the notion of the "Australian spirit" rang true.

"I think you hear about (Aussie spirit) a lot, when there's natural disasters and things, communities bind together. Tasmania at the moment with the floods, I was living there for a while, and people organising charity dinners helping people who have lost things -- it's being a 'True Blue Aussie isn't it, you earn that reputation for a reason," she said.

Along with the couple, the governor-General also praised the efforts of around 450 Australian paramedics who are working with the London Ambulance Service. Enditem