Hampshire artist's Covid Star medal for NHS staff and carers moves a step closer

Harry Gray, 57, saw the selfless dedication of staff at both Queen Alexandra Hospital and Rowans Hospice as they looked after his father, Dolly, who died from cancer at the age of 92.

As reported by The News in April, Harry first came up with the idea for the Covid Star after discussions with his father and ‘seeing the first-hand brilliant care my dad got’ in the face of the Covid pandemic.

Speaking at the time Harry said: ‘My father said you often hear the phrase “they deserve a medal” and we thought let’s go one step beyond the round of applause and give them something to keep forever.’

Thanks to Harry’s artistic talent and the work of Birmingham based craft company, Fattorini, Harry’s design has now been brought to life with the production of the first medals.

Harry said: ‘The circle around the red C in the middle of the medal actually has small spikes on which represents the coronavirus. The cross shape is from the Florence Nightingale medal which used to be given to nurses.

‘I changed the design to be more like a badge after speaking to nurses at Rowans Hospice who said they would prefer to have something practical which they can wear all the time.’

Harry has now further adapted the design to create a red silver and blue English medal with a blue Scottish version and a red and green Welsh version. After discussions with his father he also extended the medal design to cover carers.

What Harry now needs is the support of the UK government to roll out the production of the medal on a mass scale.

SEE ALSO: English secondary schools and colleges will get weekly Covid tests from January

He said: ‘With 2.8 million NHS and care staff across the country this is a massive undertaking and we would really need government funding to make it happen. It would also be nice if some of the large online companies such as Amazon, who have seen their profits increase during the pandemic, were to invest in this project.

‘The production could also create employment. If the government gave us the go ahead we are in a position to start tomorrow.’

Donna Reynolds of Thomas Fattorini Ltd added: ‘When Harry first called me to discuss his concept for a Covid medal I was so excited. Having worked on and off for Fattorini's since 1982 I have seen lots of badges be designed for NHS trusts but this enquiry was different, it meant something more, especially in light of everything we have all been through this year and the wonderful work being carried out in our NHS, care homes and by the many volunteers.’

Harry and Fattorini have approached the government and are awaiting a response.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

You can subscribe here for unlimited access to Portsmouth news online - as well as fewer adverts, access to our digital edition and mobile app.

Our trial offer starts at just £2 a month for the first two months.