### Clue: Special symbol must be suitable with national award being set up (5)
### Answer: MOTIF 
 ### Explanation: Definition: Special symbol
  **Reversal of**(being set up) [FIT(suitable,apt) **plus**(with) O.M.(abbrev. for the Order of Merit, an award conferred by the monarch]. 
Answer: A distinctive symbol, figure or shape that recurs in a design.  The meaning also includes an added decoration, like a symbol, on a piece of clothing.