Civil servants who died in the course of their duties have been awarded the Elizabeth Emblem medal, the Cabinet Office has announced today.
Established last year, the Elizabeth Emblem recognises the sacrifices made by public servants who have lost their lives doing their jobs. It is the civilian equivalent of the Elizabeth Cross, which is given to members of the Armed Forces who died in action or as a result of a terrorist attack.
The Cabinet Office announced an initial group of 38 Elizabeth Emblem recipients in November. Today’s second tranche honours a further 106 public servants who lost their lives at work.
While the list is dominated by police officers, firefighters and other emergency-services workers, several civil servants and diplomats are honoured.
Among them are Bernard Godwin Bourdillon, who was killed in the bombing of Jerusalem’s King David Hotel in 1946. At the time the building housed the British administrative headquarters for Mandatory Palestine.
Recipients also include the family of governor of Bermuda Sir Richard Christopher Sharples, who was assassinated by a black power group in 1973.
Sir Richard Adam Sykes, who was British ambassador to the Netherlands until he was assassinated by the IRA in 1979, is also awarded an Elizabeth Emblem.
Elizabeth Emblem recipients who lost their lives more recently include Brian Samuel Armour, Alastair Gordon Soutar and Lisa Hallworth.
Armour worked for the Northern Ireland Prison Service as an officer at the Maze Prison. He was killed in 1988 when an IRA bomb exploded under his car as he made his way through Belfast.
Soutar was an engineer on HM Customs and Excise cutter “Sentinel”. He was fatally crushed in a dramatic exercise to intercept a boat smuggling drugs at sea off the Moray Firth in 1996.
Hallworth was an official at the British Consulate General in Istanbul. She died when a car bomb was detonated in the building’s grounds in 2003.
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden said the Elizabeth Emblem is an important recognition of the high price public servants can pay for doing their jobs.
“We owe an enduring debt to the public servants who give their lives to protect others,” he said.
“The Elizabeth Emblem is a reminder not just of the ultimate price their loved ones have paid in service of our communities, it is a lasting symbol of our national gratitude for their incredible sacrifice.”
The design of the Elizabeth Emblem features a rosemary wreath, which is a traditional symbol of remembrance, surrounding the Tudor crown.
Awards are inscribed with “For A Life Given In Service” and have the name of the person who gave their life on the back.
Families and next of kin of those who have died in public service can apply for an Elizabeth Emblem via GOV.UK.
The full list of recipients announced today can be seen here.