Queen's award for Shrewsbury Flower Show chiefs
The organisation behind the Shrewsbury Flower Show has been honoured with a top award from the Queen.
The Shropshire Horticultural Society has received the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service for 2015, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.
The society has organised the annual Shrewsbury Flower Show, recorded in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's longest running flower show in one location, since 1875.
The show has traditionally combined a staple of horticulture with military band music and, in more recent times, celebrity gardeners, chefs and stage bands culminating each night with a finale and fireworks.
Through the proceeds millions of pounds have been donated to charities, as well as bursaries being awarded to students of horticulture in further and higher education.
The awards were created in 2002 to celebrate the Queen's Golden Jubilee. The society will receive the award from the Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire, Sir Algernon Heber-Percy, later this summer.
The chairman of the Shropshire Horticultural Society, Stephen Kynaston, said: "Winning such a prestigious award is a great compliment to all those involved – particularly the trustees who, as members of the general committee, give their time freely throughout the year to plan and stage the show.
"The success of this event also relies greatly on the support it receives from our stewards, without whose continuing support there could not be a show."
