Murdered Maze prison officer remembered as a dedicated family man with an iron work ethic as he receives an Elizabeth Emblem honouring his life and sacrifice

He’s one of 107 public servants across the UK who died in the course of duty to be honoured with an Elizabeth Emblem – 32 of them Troubles victims.

Daughter Dawn Ferguson recalls his incredible work ethic and love for his kids, often putting in gruelling 12-hour days and being very active in the Prison Service union, then coming home to spend his every free moment with his wife and two children.

But the day of his death haunts her; victim of an IRA car bomb in October 1988, Brian was taken from her just days after she was engaged to be married.

“I was engaged on a Friday,” she told the News Letter. “The following Tuesday, my dad had a conference in England; he went to deliver some papers to a colleague first and never came home.

“We heard it, but it sounded like something heavy being thrown into a skip; it was that close, just across the park.

“The following Friday was meant to be my engagement party. Instead, it was the day we buried him.”

Her father, she remembers, couldn’t do enough for her, taking her to dance classes and teaching her to drive. “I was a real Daddy’s girl,” she recalls – something that factored into his missing one of the most infamous moments of the Troubles, the 1983 Maze breakout.

“I got knocked down that morning,” she said. “He came home to look after me, but he always felt he should have been there.”

Brian also made time for the rest of the family and his neighbours, showing his generous spirit.

“His elder sister was disabled, she had trouble walking,” says Dawn. “Every night, he’d go round to my granny’s to carry her to bed.

“There was a family down the round where the husband had a gambling problem, and he’d clean out our cupboards to give to them if they were struggling. But he wouldn’t tell my mum – he was being helpful, but she’d be thinking she was doting, trying to work out where all the food she’d bought had gone.”

Dawn welcomes the Elizabeth Emblem, stating: “We feel it’s a thank-you for his life and his service. He made the ultimate sacrifice, we appreciate recognition of that.”