British Red Cross volunteer receives BEM in King Charles' birthday honours
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A WOMAN who has brought a listening ear and a reassuring voice to people in emotional distress after fleeing conflicts, natural disasters and other emergencies has received a British Empire Medal in King Charles' first birthday honours list.
Liz Tait (65), from Lossiemouth, received the honour for her work as an emergency response volunteer with the British Red Cross, and in particular for services to the state funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
She has volunteered with the British Red Cross for 50 years and has helped people all over the world – Zimbabwe, China, the Carribean, Kenya, Sudan and Afghanistan among the areas she has been deployed to at short notice, as well as Scotland and the UK.
Liz was part of Operation London Bridge and was on shift to support people queuing for the Queen's lying in state.
In her BEM citation, it said: "Her professionalism was exceptional throughout the deployment, supporting members of the public for whom the death of the Queen triggered memories of grief for loved ones and she was at the forefront of offering a listening ear and support to hundreds of people who had been queuing for up to 24 hours."
Liz said: "It was a big honour to be involved in supporting the public during the Queen's funeral. There was an outpouring of grief for the Queen."
And Liz was honoured to be given the chance to view the Queen's coffin at Westminster just 45 minutes before the official lying in state closed at 6.30am.
"When I passed the Queen's coffin, I just said 'Wow, I have witnessed history'."
The citation said Liz set an example to other team members through her ability to read the emotional state of members of the public, leaning into their emotions to listen and provide support and all whilst inspiring the other volunteers in the team.
It added that she has made an "immeasurable difference" to those impacted by tragic events and disasters.
"Her skill, empathy and professionalism are foremost during her deployment to large scale emergency responses including volunteering in assistance centres that provide support."
Liz said she was "surprised and delighted" to receive the BEM.
"It is an honour that volunteering is being recognised at this level. It is not just for me, it is for the team."
Since 2018, Liz has given support to those infected and affected in the Infected Blood Inquiry in person at the hearings and on the dedicated support line.
She is also a member of the volunteer Psychosocial Support Team which
deploys with the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to emergencies overseas.
As a part of this team, she gives two months a year on call to deploy within six hours notice to support British nationals.
One of her many deployments was to Dubai in August 2019 to work with the FCDO team supporting refugees fleeing Afghanistan as Kabul fell.
The citation added: "Her humanity and empathy sees her give unwavering support to many during the most terrible experience of their lives.
"She worked tirelessly to assess and provide care to thousands of people
transiting to the UK. This included heavily pregnant women, the recently
bereaved, and families who had witnessed explosions which killed and injured many people."
Liz, who was born in Kilmarnock, but has been in Moray since 2000, fits in her volunteering responsibilities around her day job of being the lead for clinical care governance for NHS Grampian, based at Dr Gray's Hospital in Elgin.
She thanked NHS Grampian and her colleagues for supporting her to carry out her work with the British Red Cross.
She is also the clinical lead for all asylum seekers currently in Moray.
Look out for news of Forres recipients of royal birthday honours here soon.
