Former councillor chats to Prince William about his time in Shropshire
Pauline Dee could never have imagined that her day at Buckingham Palace could have seen her chatting to the Prince of Wales about her time in Shropshire.
The former, county, borough and town councillor from Wem, who was awarded the British Empire Medal for her life-long community work, was invited to a Coronation Garden Party on Tuesday.
She said the day had been wonderful and that the highlight had been a chat with William, Prince of Wales.
"We talked about when he was stationed at RAF Shawbury and he remembered his visits to Wem during his time in the county," she said.
"My son, Julian, explained why I had been awarded the BEM and he congratulated me."
Prince William trained at RAF Shawbury in 2009 and successfully completed advanced helicopter flying training at the Defence Helicopter Flying School based there.
He later became a fully operational pilot with the Royal Air Force’s Search and Rescue Force based at RAF Valley, Anglesey.
Mrs Dee also chatted to the Duke of Gloucester who has many visits to the county.
"It was the best day," she said.
She was accompanied by her son, Julian, who said it was a huge privilege to see her years and years of public service acknowledged.
Before the garden party they visited Westminster Hall and had tea on the Lord's Terrace.
"It was tiring and I could not have managed the journey without the travel assistance from Shrewsbury station to London and back," she said.
