Families of fallen servicemen and women have welcomed an announcement that each will be honoured with a new medal.

The silver Elizabeth Cross will be given to the next of kin of all armed forces personnel who have died on active service or as a result of terrorism since 1948, as a national mark of recognition for their loss.

Heather Russell, 64, lost older brother Ronald "Ronnie" Bowman during the Cyprus Emergency in 1956.

Private Bowman, from Appleby Magna, was shot dead while on patrol near Famagusta. He was 21.

Mrs Russell, from Newton Burgoland, who visits the memorial to her brother every day, said: "I think it is wonderful, but long overdue.

"Those who died in Cyprus seem to have been forgotten.

"Nobody really talks about them in the same way they do about other conflicts.

"It will be a great honour to receive this medal on his behalf."

Clive Pegg, from Elmesthorpe, will be applying for a medal on behalf of his brother Private John Pegg.

The youngest of three brothers, Pte Pegg, originally from Barwell, died in a road accident, near Lysi, in Cyprus, in April 1957.

He was three weeks short of returning home to his family.

Mr Pegg, 76, said news of his brother's death had been a "terrible blow" to the family.

"As the youngest, it really hit my parents badly. They never got over it," he said.

"I am delighted to see that now he and the many other men and women will be remembered.

"It is a terrible price to pay but where would we be without them? They truly deserve this honour"

The medal, in the form of a cross over a wreath, is the first medal created since the George Cross, instituted in 1940, to bear the reigning monarch's name.

Janice Shirley, whose son Dan died in a crash while on patrol in Helmand province, Afghanistan, in 2008, said: "We have all Dan's medals at home and they, along with this, will be given to his children so they can remember the bravery of their father."

For information on how to apply for the medal, telephone 0800 085 3600.