Shropshire Star

Queen's Birthday Honours for Shropshire local heroes

A number of people from Shropshire and the surrounding area have been honoured in this year's Queen's Birthday Honours.

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Nationally Rod Stewart, Dame Vera Lynn, singer Ruby Turner and orbiting British astronaut Tim Peake are also among 1,149 people to be acclaimed in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

And Wolves owner Steve Morgan has been made a Commander of the British Empire for his philanthropic services through the Morgan Foundation.

Stewart, 71, received a knighthood for his services to music and charity. In another record for Major Peake, his CMG – Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George – made him the first person to be honoured while in space. Dame Vera said: “I was very surprised to hear that I was going to be appointed a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour.” Gospel queen Ruby Turner is awarded an OBE.

A Shrewsbury man who has been behind efforts to raise £6 million for community causes has been awarded an MBE for his work.

[figure caption="David Tudor" title="David Tudor" align="right" url="/wpmvc/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/21542732.jpg" alt="David Tudor" id="1001229"]

David Tudor helped raise almost £3 million to build new almshouses during his time as Master of Shrewsbury Draper's Company and also helped to raise a further £3 million for renovations to St Chad's Church in Shrewsbury.

The 71-year-old said he was "delighted" to be recognised.

The retired headmaster and grandfather-of-two has been given the award for services to charity and the community in Shrewsbury.

Mr Tudor said he was honoured to have been nominated, but paid tribute to the teams of people who helped support the projects he was involved in.

He said: "It has been a team effort.

"I might have been the leader of the team but there have been a team of people supporting the projects who have worked very hard.

"I would particularly like to recognise Draper Richard Clowes and Richard Auger, who have both worked exceptionally hard on the project."

Mr Tudor has been a member of Shrewsbury Draper's Company for a number of years and was made leader in 2010 when it acquired Hospital of the Holy Cross next to Shrewsbury Abbey and a small patch of land behind it.

He initiated a project to use the land to create more almshouses at a cost of £2.7 million.

The project is now nearing completion, with a new roof in place and final fixtures being completed.

Through his work with Signal, a local deafness charity, Mr Tudor helped raise £300,000 for a new hub for the deaf and hard of hearing which is in the Riverside Centre in Shrewsbury.

As a warden of St Chad's Church he helped raise the £3 million needed to repair its 100ft tower and dome.

He has also been chairman of the Shropshire Society in London for six years and though recently stepped down to the deputy position.

Glenda Wesley

Also recognised is 62-year-old Glenda Wesley, who has been honoured for her services to young people and the community and will receive a British Empire Medal.

She has served as guide leader for the 1st Oxon Guides for the past 30 years – and her group is so oversubscribed that she now runs two groups, mostly single-handedly.

Mrs Wesley often runs survival nights in her own back garden where girls make their own shelters and gives up the first week of the summer holidays to take girls on an adventure trip.

Through year-round fundraising she keeps the costs of trips low to keep them accessible to families from all walks of life.

Mrs Wesley, a cook at Ford Primary School, said: "I'm looking forward to going to the palace. It's exciting, but I'm proud and embarrassed at at the same time to be nominated.

"I feel that I'm an ordinary person and for someone to think of me in this way is wonderful."

Mrs Wesley, who lives in Welshpool Road in Ford with her husband Eric, known as Wes, helped 120 girls in 17 years to attain the Baden Powell Award.

She has two daughters and a two-year-old grandson called Ashton.

Judith Williams

Shrewsbury's former mayor Judith Williams, 65, of Frankwell, was also honoured with a BEM for services to charity and voluntary organisations.

Mrs Williams said she was delighted to have been recognised, but that the real reward was having been able to help people over the years.

She said: "I am proud that I have been able to do something, not proud of myself but being in a position to do things for other people which helps make their lives better."

Mrs Williams has worked with a number of voluntary and charitable organisations, and was particularly recognised for her work with Shropshire Welfare Trust and the Shrewsbury Furniture Scheme.

Also receiving a BEM for services to the community is Graham Tritton.

The 66-year-old from Pattingham was inspired by running the London Marathon in 1993 to set up his own race.

The village's church tower needed £90,000 for strengthening works, which was raised through the race.

But the Bells of Pattingham races have continued, attracting between 600 and 800 runners each year and raising about £3,000 annually.

Mr Tritton still has an active part to play, organising stewards during the race.

He has also been the treasurer of Pattingham Social Club for the past three years which provides a place for young people to socialise.

Mr Tritton has now also turned his skills as treasurer to St Chad's Church in Pattingham, taking on the role after it was left vacant.

Long list of selfless people decorated by Queen:

OBE

Dr Philip Antony Freedman. Director and Chair, Nu Instruments Ltd, Wrexham. For services to the Scientific Instrumentation Industry and to the Economy in Wales.

Jonathan Glyn Mathias. For public service and services to Broadcasting in Wales.

MBE

The Reverend Monica Jane Newsome: Formerly Chaplain, HM Prison Swinfen Hall. For services to HM Prison Service and voluntary services to the community in Lichfield, Staffordshire.

Susan Lesley North: Formerly director of Operations, The National Parent Carer Participation Programme, Contact a Family, West Midlands. For services to Children and Families. (Telford, Shropshire)

Susan Parsons, JP: For services to the community in Little Wenlock

Santokho Aka San Sekhon: For services to Community Cohesion in Telford.

David Richard Tudor: For services to charity and the community in Shrewsbury. Ruth Diane Walmsley. For services to Children in Conakry, Guinea, West Africa. (Shropshire)

Kenneth Alan Jones: For services to Wrestling. (Bwlch-y-Cibau, Powys)

BEM

Frances Medley: For services to the community in Shawbury and Stanton upon Hine Heath.

Glenda Annetta Wesley: For services to Young People and the community in Shrewsbury.

Judith Anne Williams: For charitable and voluntary services in Shropshire, particularly through the Shropshire Welfare Trust and the Shrewsbury Furniture Scheme.

Frederick Geoffrey Eckton: Committee Member, Brecon and Radnor Bee Keepers Association. For services to Bee Keeping in Wales. (Builth Wells, Powys)

Penelope Ann Woodside (Ms Cowley): Formerly Clinical Lead, Operations, Nutrition and Dietetic Services, Betsi Cadwalader University Health Board. For services to Dietetics and the community in North Wales.

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