21 hours ago
Selfless bravery of teacher honoured, 29 years on from Dunblane horror that shocked the world
She sacrificed her life to save the lives of her young pupils during the worst mass shooting on British soil.
Now Gwen Mayor has been honoured for her selfless actions during the Dunblane massacre almost 30 years ago.
The 45-year-old teacher was killed along with 16 children in 1996 when a gunman burst into Dunblane Primary School in what is Britain's deadliest shooting.
The mother-of-two died while trying to protect her class of five and six-year-olds from Thomas Hamilton.
Her husband Rodney Mayor, now 81, said he was 'extremely proud' of the woman he married in 1972.
Mr Mayor said: 'She went to work as a teacher, you would expect her to come home, but she didn't. Neither did 16 of the children.
'You would have had to have known Gwen to know that this is what she would have done - she'd have done anything to protect these children in her care.
'The fact that she was shot six times meant she obviously, as far as we're concerned, she must have put some resistance up to try and prevent him doing what he did.
'We will never know, really, what happened in the gym. The fact she was shot so many times, you just can't comprehend.'
She is among eight public servants in Scotland to be honoured.
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.
Pat McFadden, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said Britain owes an 'enduring debt to the public servants who gave their lives to protect others' and the Elizabeth Emblem was a 'lasting symbol of our national gratitude for their incredible sacrifice'.
Ian Murray, the Scottish Secretary, said: '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.'
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 - Pc Paul North and Pc Joseph Stewart Drake - killed in the line of duty are also being recognised
As is Alastair Soutar, who worked for HM Customs and Excise and was crushed while taking part in an operation to catch drug smugglers off the Caithness coast in July 1996.
The aftermath of the Dunblane massacre sparked a debate on gun control, leading to the Cullen Report in 1996.
It led to a public campaign, known as the Snowdrop Petition, which helped bring about legislation which prohibited the private ownership of most handguns.
Now, only muzzle-loading and historic handguns are legal, as well as certain sporting handguns.
The gymnasium at the school was demolished in April 1996 and replaced by a memorial garden.
