Enamel lapel pin badge in the shape of a yellow heart, mounted on card marked #loveforthelost 2020, ML Badges & More Ltd., Mirfield, England, 2020

Yellow hearts were widely adopted as a symbol of loss and remembrance by families bereaved during the COVID-19 pandemic, after the Gompertz family from Birmingham placed yellow hearts in their windows to remember their grandmother Sheila who died from the disease in April 2020. The gesture was inspired by the yellow ribbons tied in trees in remembrance of men who had left for war, and resulted in a campaign and Facebook group, ‘Yellow Hearts to Remember’.

This lapel pin badge was conceived by Annette Allen, a teaching assistant from Bournemouth. Her father, Ray Maskell, died after contracting COVID-19 in his care home in April 2020. Unable to be at his side in his final moments, Annette wanted to create a wearable, recognisable item that would start conversations, ensuring that those lost to the virus were remembered as people with names and not just daily numbers on a television screen. By May 2021, she had distributed 7000 pins in the UK and worldwide. They were sent out to distant mourners unable to attend funerals affected by pandemic restrictions, and came to be worn by NHS staff and keyworkers in solidarity with the bereaved.