Twenty recipients were announced in the new year and June Honours lists and 18 of those attended the ceremony.

This year, recipients included four people from Coventry, six from Solihull, four from Birmingham, two from Dudley, two from Wolverhampton and two from Walsall.

To receive a BEM is a special honour and the royal recognition is for individuals who make outstanding contributions to their community, often devoting much of their lives to helping others and offering incredible support to people going through tough times.

Many are making a difference to people’s quality of life and being kind.

Derrick Anderson CBE, Lord-Lieutenant for West Midlands said: “The dedication and sacrifice of the people receiving recognition this year is truly wonderful. Many have been driven from personal experience and have compassion for others, and this has been channelled to provide exceptional support for those in need or to make our region a better place.”

Coventry’s recipients included husband and wife Ryan and Amy Jackson.

The couple have worked together to help bereaved parents across the region and have made an enormous difference giving support and advice around parental loss.

They were individually honoured for their differing roles within the charity.

After Amy and Ryan lost their daughter in 2010, they realised more support was needed to help bereaved parents.

Within weeks of their loss, they co-founded The Lily Mae Foundation, that amongst many things, raises funds for SANDS, the National Stillbirth Charity.

Sandra Crowther was another recipient of the award.

Sandra is a committed adoptive and foster carer and is part of a fostering team aimed at young people who so often get overlooked – the teenagers who are in residential care and have the potential to do well in a family environment with one-to-one support.