The fathers of two policewomen murdered on duty were among the first to receive a new posthumous award from the King, calling it a “fitting” tribute to their daughters.
The Elizabeth Emblem has been launched after a campaign by Bryn Hughes and Paul Bone, whose daughters – PC Nicola Hughes and PC Fiona Bone – were murdered after responding to a 999 call in Manchester in 2012.
The award is the civilian equivalent of the Elizabeth Cross and will be given to the next of kin of police officers, firefighters and other public servants whose lives were lost on duty.
Mr Hughes and Mr Bone were among the relatives who received the award from the King at the first Elizabeth Emblem presentation at Windsor Castle.
The King spent an hour with the families receiving the emblem, speaking to them about the loved ones they’ve lost and sharing the nation’s gratitude.
Mr Hughes said afterwards: “We can’t change what’s happened, but I think if we can remember them and honour them in this way, that’s a quite efficient tribute – quite rightly so as well.”
“It’s nice to be at the end of the process and [to get] recognition finally from the state for people who have lost their lives,” Mr Poole said.
Jane Houng received the award in honour of her daughter Rebecca Dykes, a diplomat who was abducted, sexually assaulted and killed while working at the British Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, in 2017.
She has since founded Becky’s Button, an organisation which distributes free safety alarms to vulnerable women.
Ms Houng told Sky News: “It was an honour to meet His Majesty, in recognition of the fact my daughter lost her life in service to this country.”
She said the award “galvanises my mission to raise awareness about gender-based violence and the use of panic buttons,” adding that she believes one of the buttons “would have saved my daughter’s life”.
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The Elizabeth Emblem’s design features a rosemary wreath, a traditional symbol of remembrance, around a Tudor crown and the inscription “For A Life Given In Service”.
