Lord Lieutenant
Hertfordshire
THE ELIZABETH CROSS
On Wednesday 1 July 2009, the MOD made an announcement about the Elizabeth Cross, a new Emblem and Scroll to be presented to the families of service men and women killed in operations since 1948. The following link gives details of this announcement.
Lieutenancy Offices throughout the country have been asked to become involved with the presentations of the Elizabeth Cross and Memorial Scroll to the next of kin of fallen servicemen since 1948 on operations, or as a result of terrorism.
On 13 January 2011, Lady Verulam hosted a ceremony at Gorhambury when the Elizabeth Cross and Memorial Scroll was presented to the brother of Sergeant Robert Frederick De Rosa who lost his life on 26 September 1953 when he was on board Valetta WD164 which had taken off on a resupply mission to a remote police post in the jungle. The plan had been to push the supplies out of the aircraft at low level. Whilst manoeuvring to make the drop, the weather deteriorated rapidly and thick fog developed. With visibility lost, the aircraft crashed into the jungle killing all eight on board, including Sergeant De Rosa. This was one of a number of accidents in this type of aircraft which undertook a very hazardous role in order to sustain British and allied forces during the Malaya conflict.
The photograph shows the Lord Lieutenant presenting the Elizabeth Cross to Sergeant De Rosa’s brother, Mr Paul De Rosa. Mr De Rosa was accompanied at the presentation by his sister, Mary, and his son, Dominic.