Patients at hospice finally able to write their own tributes to Queen Elizabeth II

Two councillors have delivered pages from a book of condolences on behalf of Lichfield Cathedral, to allow patients at St Giles Hospice in Lichfield their own opportunity to pay tribute.

Whilst hundreds of people flocked to sign the books of condolences in memory of the Queen at the National Memorial Arboretum and Lichfield Cathedral after her death earlier this month, there are many vulnerable people of all ages unable to make the journey.

But thanks to Councillors David Leytham and Harry Warburton, people at St Giles Hospice were able to write down their own heartfelt tributes to the United Kingdom's longest-serving monarch.

Councillor Leytham said: “We wanted to ensure that as many people as possible were provided with the opportunity to pay their respects to Her Majesty the Queen, it was important to us that we shared pages from the book of condolences with patients at St Giles Hospice – her loss has been deeply felt by residents across Staffordshire and many people have found comfort in leaving their personal tributes in the books.”

63-year-old patient, Malcolm Fisher from Cannock, said he was incredibly sad to hear the news regarding Her Majesty the Queen.

Malcolm took the opportunity to write his own personal tribute in the book of condolences and was incredibly emotional when putting pen to paper.

The messages in the book will be kept as part of a piece of history and stored within the Staffordshire Archives.

Malcolm said: “I feel really honoured that I’ve now had the opportunity to sign the book of condolences and pay my respects. I never thought I’d get this opportunity – I’m a bit overwhelmed to tell you the truth.

“I’m now part of a piece of history and I’m looking forward to telling my family about what I’ve done – I feel very privileged.”

Senior nurses, Kelly Stephens and Ruth Abell, also took the opportunity to share their tributes.

Kelly, who has worked at St Giles for eight years, said: “Many of our older patients will no doubt have many fond memories of Her Majesty the Queen and her reign.

“We’d like to extend our thanks to Lichfield Cathedral and Lichfield Council for ensuring that our patients have been able to pay their respects, giving them an opportunity that they wouldn’t otherwise have had if the condolence pages hadn’t been bought to our hospice.”