THE ELIZABETH CROSS AND MEMORIAL SCROLL
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Introduction
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On 1 July 2009 the Secretary of State for Defence announced in Parliament Her Majesty The Queen’s approval and institution of a new form of recognition, called the Elizabeth Cross, and a Memorial Scroll for the families of Service Personnel who die on operations or as a result of terrorist action.

Target Audience
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All service and civilian personnel.

Key Points
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This is not a posthumous medal for the fallen, but is tangible national recognition for their families in recognition of their tragic loss and sacrifice.

The Elizabeth Cross and a Memorial Scroll will be presented to the deceased’s Next of Kin and will be issued from 1 August 2009 recognising deaths in qualifying circumstances dating back to 1 January 1948.

The Elizabeth Cross, recommended by the Chiefs of Staff, has been welcomed by
MOD Ministers, endorsed by the cross-Government Committee on Honours and Awards and approved by Her Majesty The Queen.

The Elizabeth Cross is made of hallmarked silver and is in the form of a cross with a laurel wreath passing between the arms. The arms of the cross bear floral symbols representing England (Rose), Scotland (Thistle), Ireland (Shamrock) and Wales (Daffodil). The centre of the Cross bears the crowned Cypher of Her Majesty The Queen. The reverse of the Cross will be engraved with the name of the Service person in whose memory it is granted.  A miniature version of the Elizabeth Cross will also be granted. Both will be presented in a black leather style presentation box with the Royal Cypher on the lid and the Royal Coat of Arms on the inner silk lining.

The Memorial Scroll is on parchment style paper; headed with the Royal Coat of Arms and the following words “This Scroll commemorates ... who gave his/her life for Queen and Country on...”  The Scroll will bear the signature of Her Majesty The Queen in the upper left hand corner.

Eligibility
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Eligible personnel to be remembered in this way are those who were serving with, or former members of, the Regular and Reserve Armed Forces or the Royal Fleet Auxiliary when deployed in direct support of a designated operation and who died in the following circumstances:

Those who died from whatever cause whilst serving on a medal earning operation.

Medal earning operations are those in which deployed personnel received a Campaign Medal, General Service Medal or Operational Service Medal which demonstrated the risk and rigour involved. Operations where a UN, NATO or other international body or other nations’ campaign medal was accepted for wear, in the absence of a UK medal also qualify.

Those who died as a result of an act of terrorism where the available evidence suggests that the Service person, whether on or off duty, was targeted because of his or her membership of the UK Armed Forces.

Those who died on a non-medal earning operational task where death has been caused by the inherent high risk of the task.

Those who died a subsequent and premature death as a result of an injury or illness attributed to the circumstances outlined above.

Deaths that occurred after 1 January 1948 or as a result of service in Palestine since 27 September 1945 will be recognised retrospectively. These dates reflect the fact that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission attributed deaths up to 1 January 1948 to World War II service (with the exception of Palestine).


Only one Elizabeth Cross is to be granted for each death recognised but an additional Scroll will be available to the following (or their legal successors) where they are not the Next of Kin:

The parents of the deceased.

The spouse/partner of the deceased or someone who had a substantive relationship with the deceased.

As a Memorial Scroll was issued at the time to those who died in the Korean War, the Elizabeth Cross only (and not the new Scroll) will be issued in remembrance of those who died during that war.

As with all forms of recognition, there will be those who fall outside the qualifying criteria.  There is a risk involved in much of what the Armed Forces do routinely.  Some members of the Armed Forces sadly die, for example, in training incidents or in road accidents in the United Kingdom.  While any death is a tragic loss to the family concerned and to the Armed Forces, the Chiefs of Staff recommended this new recognition for the special circumstances of operational duty.  In addition they considered that the terrible circumstances where an individual was targeted by terrorists because of their membership of the Armed Forces should be similarly recognised.

It is simply not possible to contact the families of all those who may be eligible going back over 50 years as address details held for Next of Kin are likely to be out of date.

For new qualifying deaths after 1 August 2009, it is intended that, in most cases, the Next of Kin will be offered the opportunity for the Elizabeth  Cross and Memorial Scroll to be presented privately and in an appropriate way at the time of the funeral if they so wish.

For retrospective cases, Next of Kin who are resident in the UK will be offered the opportunity to receive the Elizabeth Cross and Memorial Scroll at a formal presentation ceremony in the region where they live.  Such presentations may be made by a Lord Lieutenant or a senior military representative.  It is likely to be some months before these events are arranged as locations will very much depend on the number of recipients living in a particular region and we cannot establish this until applications are received.

If they prefer, families may choose to receive the Elizabeth Cross and Memorial Scroll by recorded delivery.  Next of Kin living overseas will normally receive the Cross and Scroll in this way

Details of how to apply including application forms can be found via the MOD website at.   http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceFor/Veterans/Medals/TheElizabethCrossDiedOnOperationsRecognitionAward.htm.  Those without access to the internet may call 0800 085 3600 (UK Number) and ask for details to be sent to them.