On Thursday 5th August 2021 we received The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service from Ed Anderson, the Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire.
The Lord Lieutenant speaking about the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service
He began by speaking about the Queen's Award and gave examples of various voluntary organisations who had received it over the years. He then spoke about the work of our Project and was very complimentary about our voluntary work and how important it was that we remember our history and those people who served in wartime so that we could live in peacetime. We should never forget their service to their country.
The Lord Lieutenant then presented me with the Crystal award and Ian received the framed certificate, which is signed by The Queen.
l-r, Lord Lieutenant Ed Anderson, Keighley Mayor Julie Adams, Ian Walkden holding the certificate and Andy Wade holding the Queen's Award.
Our Mayor, Councillor Julie Adams then spoke about the Project and how proud they all were of our achievement and our work over the years and that Keighley Town Council would always support us and continue the support they had given us over the years. We are very proud of our association with the council and with the history of Keighley and the Worth Valley. We are so very grateful to Julie for her efforts in organising the event in Keighley's Civic Centre and to Pip Gibson and the Centre staff for their help in making this special day run smoothly.
I then spoke about the Project and how volunteers can always work better and accomplish more with the assistance of other volunteers and the support of the rest of society. I emphasised how important this support has been to us and in particular how grateful we are to Keighley Library and the wonderful staff who have helped us so much over the years and maintain the unique archive of our local history which has been so essential to our work.
On a final note I said how much the support of our wives has been over the years and we presented Edith and Helen with flowers as a token of our gratitude for their unwavering support to us. The flower arrangements were beautifully made for us by 'The Flower Shop' on North Street, Keighley and the colours were selected by them to reflect the purple and white theme of the Queeen's Award for Voluntary Service.
l-r, Andy and Helen Wade, The Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire Ed Anderson, Edith Thompson and Ian Walkden.
