Falkirk paramedic who died in pandemic among Scots honoured with Elizabeth Emblem

Rod Moore is one of eight Scots being honoured with the Elizabeth Emblem, which was introduced last year for public servants who lost their lives in the line of duty.

His wife Clare said news of the honour had made her “excited, happy, proud and very glad he was getting recognition”.

However, she said that she would give anything to have him come back through the door of their Falkirk home once again and hear his usual cry of “Hello darling, I’m in”.

Rod had worked for 40 years with the Scottish Ambulance Service and returned to front-line duties in 2020 to help out with the Covid-19 response, working seven days a week.

Sadly he contracted the virus and was eventually admitted to Forth Valley Royal Hospital in late October.

Clare and the couple’s son, Craig, now 31, were unable to visit him and relied on Rod getting in touch to give them updates on his condition.

However, with his years of experience, he was eventually trying to prepare them for the worst.

Four weeks after he was admitted, Rod’s loved ones received a message from a consultant saying he was very ill and to prepare themselves.

Clare recalled: “It was horrendous not being able to visit him, then when we got the call on the Friday I insisted that Craig and I both be allowed to go into the hospital to be with him. I didn’t want him to die alone.”

Sadly, Rod died on November 21, aged only 63.

Clare said the next few days were just a daze as they tried to arrange the funeral while following Covid guidelines.

"So many things that I wanted to do for his funeral were not allowed so when it was suggested we have a service funeral I knew that’s what he would have wanted.”

On December 7, following a service at St Francis Xavier's Church in Falkirk, Rod’s colleagues from the Scottish Ambulance Service formed a guard of honour as the funeral procession passed Falkirk Ambulance Station where Darren O'Hare performed Local Hero on the bagpipes. Flanked by police motorcycle outriders, the procession then made its way to Grandsable Cemetery in Polmont where Rod was laid to rest.

Clare said: “I remember arriving at the traffic lights at Thornhill Road and seeing everyone lined up. It was just overwhelming – but I knew that Rod would have been chuffed by the turnout.”

She was later to receive flowers from William and Catherine, the then Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who were visiting the Scottish Ambulance centre at Newbridge, outside Edinburgh on the day of Rod’s funeral.

Clare, 63, who worked for many years in NHS hospital catering, and Craig, who has followed in his father’s footsteps and is a dispatcher with the Scottish Ambulance Service, both agree Rod would have been delighted by the Elizabeth Emblem.

"He was a really fun person, who made me laugh every day – even when I wasn’t talking to him – and he would have said ‘I deserve this’,” said Clare of her husband of 32 years.

"Rod was a real people person and although he had lots of roles with the service, including training, he liked nothing better than being in an ambulance and dealing with patients.

"He saw some tough things over the years and even had to take some of his friends into hospital very ill, but he just loved his job..

She added: “I miss him every day and would give anything to have him back.

"I’ve known about the award for a couple of weeks but wasn’t allowed to say anything until it was officially announced. But since it has come out the phone has not stopped ringing and I’ve had lots of messages from people saying how much Rod deserves this.

"And if he was here, he’d agree with them.”

Another of the recipients is PC Joseph Stewart Drake, Stirling and Clackmannan Constabulary. He was killed when a stolen lorry being pursued by other officers intentionally struck his car as he tried to intercept it at Dennyloanhead in August 1967.

Primary school teacher Gwen Mayor who was killed while trying to protect her class in the Dunblane shooting in 1996 also receives the Elizabeth Emblem.

Husband Rodney Mayor said her family were "extremely proud and honoured" to receive the award on her behalf.

Firefighters Ewan Williamson who died in a fire in Edinburgh in July 2009 and Roderick Nicolson who died in December 1995 after becoming trapped in five tonnes of sodium carbonate ash while attempting to rescue two workmen are both being honoured.

Police officer Richard North who was killed in March 1987 when his marked vehicle was hit by another vehicle whose driver was under the influence of drinks and drugs will also receive the honour.

As is William Oliver, of the Glasgow Salvage Corps, who died in the Cheapside Street Disaster, a fire in a whisky bond, in March 1960, and Alastair Soutar of HM Customs & Excise who was crushed between two vessels as he investigated a smuggling operation in July 1996.

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."