Prince William presents Commissioner with the Queen’s Police Medal

Commissioner of Police Eddie Yome received his Queen’s Police Medal (QPM) from Prince William at an investiture ceremony held at Buckingham Palace.

He was awarded his medal earlier this year in the Queen’ Birthday Honours list and received it on Friday 10 November.

Commissioner Yome who will be retiring in April next year has served a total of 44 years in the Police Service and has thanked the men and women of the Royal Gibraltar Police without whom this accolade, he says, would never have come to fruition.

“I went up through the ranks to make a difference and hopefully I have achieved this.”

Previous forms of the award have been known as the Queen’s Police and Fire Service Medal, Kings Police Medal or King’s Police and Fire Service Medal. The current form of the medal was created by Royal Warrant in May 1954.

There are two versions of the medal; the Queen’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service which is the more common form of the award and the Queen’s Police Medal for Gallantry. The latter of which may be awarded posthumously.

Commissioner Yome began his career in 1973 as a Police Cadet with the Royal Gibraltar Police, then known as the Gibraltar Police. In 1984 he relocated to the UK with his family and continued his police career with Thames Valley Police, with whom he served for four years and carried out various roles.

In 1988 he returned to Gibraltar and the Royal Gibraltar Police with whom he has served the rest of his career being promoted through the ranks. He was promoted to the rank of Commissioner in 2012.