Heroes deserving of recognition sought by Buckinghamshire Honours and Awards Committee

Following the recent announcement of the Queen’s New Year honours the Buckinghamshire Honours and Awards Committee is looking to find future heroes deserving of recognition.

In 2016 Lord Lieutenant Sir Henry Aubrey-Fletcher set up the committee to make sure a broader reach of people who give exceptional service to the community get royal recognition.

The 2017 Queen’s New Year Honours for Buckinghamshire residents included one OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire), 11 MBEs (Member of the Order of the British Empire) and two BEMs (Medallist of the Order of the British Empire, or British Empire Medal). However Honours Committee Chairman Alexander Boswell is convinced the county has more unsung heroes.

He said that with around 60,000 volunteers serving in almost 4,000 voluntary and community organisations he was sure Buckinghamshire had more people who deserved recognition.

‘We have such a rich and diverse county and there are so many unsung heroes doing wonderful things for the good of their community, often without any expectation of reward or recognition,‘ he said. ‘We want to celebrate this in the most appropriate way. A national honour or award is a way of saying “thank you” to those who have made a significant contribution.‘

Potential nominees could be involved in charitable or voluntary activity or be doing innovative work that makes a significant difference in the community, said Alexander.

The Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Lieutenancy Office works closely with the Cabinet Office and Government departments to review and contribute to the nominations made by people for local residents.

Alexander said making a nomination was easy by using the Government’s nomination website at https://www.gov.uk/honours/nominate-someone-in-the-uk. The County Council website provides information and guidance at http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/about-your-council/council-structure/lord-lieutenant/.