Queen’s Birthday Honours 2022 – Fire, Police and Ambulance Service

Recipients of Queen’s Fire, Police and Ambulance Service medals in Scotland are as follows:

Queen’s Police Medal

• Irene Ralston, Superintendent, Police Scotland
• Stephen Tanner, Police Constable, Police Scotland

Queen’s Fire Service Medal 

• Roy Dunsire, Group Commander, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service
• John Fraser, Firefighter, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service
• Stevie Maybanks, Crew Commander, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service

Queen’s Ambulance Service Medal 

• Donna Baillie, Resilience Manager, Scottish Ambulance Service

QUEEN’S POLICE MEDAL

Superintendent Irene Ralston, Police Scotland

Superintendent Irene Ralston joined Lothian Borders Police on 9 February 1987, initially posted to uniform duties in C Division. She retired from Police Scotland on 8 February 2022 after 35 years policing service. She joined the police at a time when women were significantly in the minority, when their role in policing was still considered to be somewhat limited and when women in leadership positions was extremely rare. 

Throughout her 35 year policing career she has held roles in the CID, Drug Squad, Airport Special Branch, Special Branch, the Confidential Unit and Professional Standards, latterly performing the role of Local Area Commander and Support Superintendent in P (Fife) Division.

Police Constable Stephen Tanner, Police Scotland

Constable Stephen Tanner has been a Police Officer on the Island of Tiree since 2010. He is the only Police Officer on Tiree, which is a four hour ferry trip from the mainland. At times, due to poor weather there will be no ferry services running and Constable Tanner can find himself as the only person responding to calls from members of the public for a number of days.

This is undoubtedly a very challenging and unique policing role.  As the only officer on the island Constable Tanner is very much a 24/7 Police Officer who is frequently recalled to duty to assist members of the local community and tourists visiting the island.

He makes himself available and accessible across all groups. He works closely with young people providing a positive role model through his work with the schools and youth groups. During the COVID crisis, he delivered food parcels and provided additional support to partners and residents.

QUEEN’S FIRE SERVICE MEDAL

Group Commander Roy Dunsire, Scottish Fire and Rescue

Since joining the Fire Service in 1992, Roy has had a varied Fire Service career where he has significantly impacted the Service in a positive manner.

Around 2013, as the eight legacy Fire and Rescue Services in Scotland were merged into one National Fire Service, he played an instrumental part of the Fire Board Support Team, supporting the development, improvement and effective management of a range of Board functions, ensuring there was a strategic and co-ordinated approach to meeting Board objectives, ensuring the governance arrangements of the Board were efficient and effective in meeting both statutory and organisational requirements.

His passionate approach supported this significant change through consultation with staff and stakeholders across Scotland in a manner that has enhanced the status of the Fire and Rescue Services in Scotland.

Firefighter John Fraser, Scottish Fire and Rescue

John joined the crew at Coll Volunteer Fire Station in July 1985. In his time in the unit he has undertaken the role of Firefighter, Deputy Leader and Leader, before continuing as Firefighter and LGV Driver over the last couple years due to driver shortages.

He is passionate about his local community, and it is this passion that has seen his Fire Service involvement continue for over 37 years. He showed exceptional leadership whilst in the Deputy Leader and Leader positions, and was passionate about developing others to succeed him in later years. 

He is well respected as a first-class officer of the highest calibre has displayed these attributes over many years at various incidents. He has the ability to get the best from people and used his skills to keep firefighters safe and deliver the best services to our local community.  

He has dedicated his entire working life to both the Fire Service and the Coll community.

Crew Commander Stevie Maybanks, Scottish Fire and Rescue

Stevie started her life as Steve, but she knew she was different from the age of four and felt she was ‘wrong’ from the age of 11. She also at that stage in her life decided she wanted to be a Royal Marine Commando, an ambition she achieved at the age of 17. She served over 13 years in the Marines. 

She joined the Fire Service as a Volunteer Firefighter in her home village of Lochgoilhead, keen to serve her local community, she provided an emergency response to incidents as part of the local Volunteer Unit,attending community events to engage with the public on community safety issues. 

It was at this stage in her life she applied to become a Wholetime Firefighter with her first role being at Oban fire station and over a period of years in the Service, she dealt with the significant challenges of transitioning her gender whilst working towards her promotion, firstly to Crew Commander, then into her instructor role, drawing on her background experience to train others in the Service. She worked at Clydebank Fire Station, one of the busiest stations in the service, attending a broad range of incidents, many of which were large scale, complex and contributed to the service’s prevention and protection work within the local area through the delivery of community safety initiatives. 

Not only has she left a legacy and a long lasting positive impression on the staff within the Highland area by sharing her journey and experiences, she has influenced how the SFRS Equality and Diversity Team will consider and strengthen its support for trans issues in the future. She has recently retired from the Service and continues to work tirelessly to make workplaces better based on her own experiences.

QUEEN’S AMBULANCE SERVICE MEDAL

Resilience Manager Donna Baillie, Scottish Ambulance Service

Donna has demonstrated consistently exemplary levels of performance over a sustained period in a variety of roles. Recognised as a Subject Matter Expert in resilience matters, Donna excels in her current role of Resilience Manager and has contributed to significant improvement activity, both domestic and national level.

In 2020, the Minister for Community Safety acknowledged her involvement and participation in the multi-agency Fireworks Review Group, which provided recommendations to Scottish Ministers on tightening devolved legislation on fireworks in Scotland.

Donna has been proactive in the review of the Scottish Major Incident and Mass Casualty Plan for NHS Boards and social care partners as well as SAS Major Incident Plans and Major Incident Mass Casualty national plan, critical to the effective response to such circumstances.

Passionate about supporting and valuing people, Donna has been instrumental in promoting the utilisation of the IT system, Turas, investing significant time in providing expert advice and guidance to staff.

Donna is an inspiring role model who values people, supports training & development and continually improves systems. She is an excellent & highly professional ambassador for SAS, including forums such as Voluntary Sector Resilience Partnership.