Teacher killed in Dunblane shootings among honoured Scots

A primary school teacher who was killed while trying to protect her class in the Dunblane shooting in 1996 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.

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

Gwen's husband, Rodney Mayor, said her family were "extremely proud and honoured" to receive the award on her behalf.

He said: "We always believed her actions that day deserved more recognition.

"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."

Mr Mayor told the BBC that Gwen was a dedicated teacher who was in school hours before and after the bell.

"School teaching was her life, and she looked at the children as her own if you would," he said.

"She wasn't a fireman or a policeman. She was just a normal person."

On 13 March 1996, Thomas Hamilton entered Dunblane Primary School with four handguns and 743 rounds of ammunition.

He opened fire on children who had been skipping round the gym hall, killing 16 pupils as well as Mrs Mayor, before turning the gun on himself.

The attack took between three and four minutes.

It remains the deadliest firearms atrocity ever committed in the UK.

People affected spoke of their determination not to be defined by the events in a BBC documentary 20 years later.

Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said he was "particularly pleased" to see the honour go to Mrs Mayor.

He said: "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."

Another recipient of the Elizabeth Emblem is Rod Moore, from Falkirk, who had retired as a paramedic after 40 years with the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Out of a sense of duty and a love for the job, he went back to work during the Covid pandemic at the age of 63.

Rod contracted the virus and became seriously ill very quickly. He died in November 2020.

His wife Clare told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme that Rod worked very hard, loved his patients and would be "really chuffed" about the award.

"He was the funniest man in the world," she said. "He made me laugh every day. He was a great dad to Craig and we both miss him so much.

"Because of the pandemic, he knew that he had to be there to help."

Within a week of testing positive for Covid, Rod was taken into intensive care where he stayed for about four weeks.

Clare and son Craig could not visit due to restrictions and had not received phone calls from doctors - so Rod, matter of factly, kept them up to date with his condition.

"He kind of took control," said Clare. "He had phoned me on the Tuesday to say I would need to prepare myself. As naïve as I was then, I thought I had weeks yet.

"It wasn't until the Friday night that we got the phone call from one of the consultants to say we could go and see him, that he was very sick.

"I asked that we would be there at the end, I didn't want him on his own. He died at 01:20. That was the last time I seen him."

Clare and Craig are now preparing to receive the award on Rod's behalf.

"I wish he was here, I'd rather have him here," she added. "I've got all my memories, and I just keep them."

Two Scottish police officers and two firefighters killed in the line of duty are among the other Scots 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.

Firefighter Roderick Nicolson 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.

Fellow firefighter Ewan Williamson died while responding to a fire at the Balmoral Bar in Edinburgh in July 2009.

The 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.

William Oliver of the Glasgow Salvage Corps died at the Cheapside Street whisky bond fire on 28 March 1960. He was instantly killed alongside 18 others when some casks ruptured causing a massive boiling liquid expanding vapour explosion.

First Minister John Swinney welcomed the award going to the eight Scots, saying: "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."