Teacher killed in Dunblane massacre to be honoured with Elizabeth Emblem

A primary school teacher killed while trying to protect her class in the Dunblane shooting almost three decades ago has been recognised with a new honour.

Gwen Mayor is one of eight Scots being honoured with the Elizabeth Emblem, which was introduced last year for public servants who died in the line of duty.

Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said he is “particularly pleased” to see the honour go to Mrs Mayor, who died when gunman Thomas Hamilton burst into Dunblane Primary School on March 13 1996, killing the teacher and 16 children.

Her husband, Rodney Mayor, said: “As a family we are extremely proud and honoured to be receiving this award on behalf of Gwen. We always believed her actions that day deserved more recognition.”

He added: “You would have to have known Gwen to know that she would have done whatever trying to protect the children in her care.

“She paid the ultimate price for that commitment. Finally, we now feel that she has been honoured for what happened that day.”

Firefighter Ewan Williamson, who died while responding to a pub fire in Edinburgh in July 2009, is also recognised, as is Rod Moore, a retired paramedic from Falkirk who returned to work with the Scottish Ambulance Service during Covid and then contracted the virus, dying in November 2020.

William Oliver, a worker with the Glasgow Salvage Corps who died in the Cheapside Street disaster in 1960, is also included in what is only the second list of Elizabeth Emblem recipients.

He was killed as a blaze ripped through a warehouse that contained more than one million gallons of whisky and 30,000 gallons of rum – with the temperature causing casks to rupture, leading to a huge boiling liquid vapour explosion which claimed his life and that of 18 others.

Speaking as a list of 106 people across the UK being honoured was published, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden said Britain owes “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.”

Mr Murray paid tribute to the Scots being recognised, saying: “Every one of these brave public servants gave their life to protect others.

“They are people who stepped forward when most of us would step back, and they paid the ultimate price.

“I am particularly pleased that Dunblane teacher Gwen Mayor has been recognised. No-one will ever forget the horror of the shooting at Dunblane Primary School in 1996, when Mrs Mayor was killed trying to protect her pupils.

“I hope that the families of all those recognised will take some comfort in knowing that their loved ones, and their service, has not been forgotten.”

First Minister John Swinney said: “I warmly welcome the awarding of the Elizabeth Emblem to these individuals and their families.

“This recognition enables us to remember their sacrifice and their lives dedicated to public service. They made Scotland a better place for us all and we continue to honour their memory.”

The Elizabeth Emblem was established last year as a national form of recognition, with the award given to the next of kin of public servants who have lost their lives as a result of their duty.

The honour is the civilian equivalent of the Elizabeth Cross, which recognises members of the UK Armed Forces who died in action or as a result of a terrorist attack.

Also being recognised is firefighter Roderick Nicolson, who died in December 1995 after becoming trapped in five tonnes of sodium carbonate ash while attempting to rescue two workmen from a silo of chemical dust at Perth Harbour.

Two Scottish police officers killed in the line of duty are also being recognised.

Pc Paul North, who was known by his second name of Richard, of Tayside Police died when the police car he was in was involved in a collision with another vehicle whose driver was under the influence of drink and drugs in Perth in March 1987.

Pc Joseph Stewart Drake, of Stirling and Clackmannan Constabulary, was killed when a stolen lorry being pursued by officers intentionally struck his car as he tried to intercept it at Dennyloanhead near Falkirk in August 1967.

The Elizabeth Emblem is also being given to the family of Alastair Soutar, who worked for HM Customs & Excise and was crushed between a customs boat and a smugglers’ vessel while taking part in an operation to catch drug smugglers off the Caithness coast in July 1996.