New Year Honours: Shropshire local heroes recognised for their selfless work
Residents who “represent the best of Shropshire” have been recognised in King Charles III’s first New Year Honours list.
The recipients come from all aspects of Shropshire society, having contributed to the response to the pandemic, helped people with disabilities take part in sport, provided homes for the homeless, raised funding for vital charity work, and even played a major role in the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Among those honoured are former Wem councillor Pauline Dee, who has been recognised with a British Empire Medal (BEM) for 'exemplary' voluntary service to the community over 40 years.
She said she was incredibly proud, adding that it was an “honour” to be recognised for her work in the town she loves.
Mrs Dee, 81, was the first woman Wem town councillor when she was co-opted onto the council in 1981 – and the first woman mayor of the town, taking on the role three times.
Her efforts have included working to organise the town's Doomsday celebration week in 1986, bringing in thousands of visitors, as well as creating the Wem Economic Forum, which gained £1.5m of funding to improve the condition of the town.
She has also devoted more than 20 years’ service to Wem Youth Club, as chair and co-chair for many years.
Over that time she has raised funds for a new club kitchen, roof, equipment and trips.
She has also been a key member of Shropshire Scouting for more than 20 years in a variety of roles, and was invited to act as District Scout Chair for the District Executive in 2000, and is Vice President of Shropshire Guiding.
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Mrs Dee said: "I was a councillor for 40 years and just to be recognised for the work I have done for Wem, it is an honour. I love Wem, it is a great little town.
"People are so friendly, they step up to do things. You always get some that will moan and groan but you have got a core of people that want to do things for Wem and they bring other people along with them."
She said the original decision to become a councillor was about wanting to help people – which remained the core of the role throughout her career.
"It was always a joke at our place that as soon as we sat down for a meal the phone would go and they would say 'leave it mum' and I'd say 'you can't, what if it is someone who needs help".
She added: "You have to be there for people, not there for a political party. It is people not politics, that was always my motto."
Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) station manager Tom Hatfield, from Wellington, has also been awarded the BEM for coordinating the service’s response to the pandemic, which saw 10,000 vaccinations administered by its staff.
He assisted with the set-up of vaccination hubs around the county, which the service supported with patient transfers and facilities logistics.
He said: “I am deeply humbled to receive this honour. I feel it reflects the aptitude and hard work of over 200 members of SFRS staff who came together from across the organisation during the Covid-19 pandemic to help the communities of Shropshire.
“These personnel took on additional responsibilities alongside their normal roles and this award is as much a recognition of them as it is of me.
“I’m grateful to have been able to play my part in the Covid-19 response, alongside NHS partners who worked tirelessly to help bring the pandemic under control.”
SFRS's Chief Fire Officer, Rod Hammerton, said: "This is well-deserved recognition of the excellent work Tom undertook in making sure Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service could play a full and effective role in protecting the public from Covid-19. Tom's energy, innovation and collaborative approach made a real difference to our community's protection."
Graham Furber, 74, from Bomere Heath, receives the BEM for services to cricket, to disability sport and to the community in Shropshire.
Mr Furber, a member of Wem Cricket Club since he was 10 years old - playing until he was 60 - dedicated his honour to the memory of his son Richard.
Richard, died at the age of 24 in 2010, and had been key to his involvement with disability cricket.
It started when Richard, who had spina bifida, was invited to a special disability cricket training session in Oswestry in 1989 by two brothers, Dick and Fred Wildgoose.
Since then Mr Furber has been involved in coaching and organising in disability cricket, with the creation of the Shropshire Disabled Cricket League – a winter league that has been running since 1990 and will resume again in the New Year.
Mr Furber, who also worked in the NHS for 40 years and still volunteers now, is also one of two coaches for the Shropshire Cricket Board Disability Squad.
He said he was delighted to see greater awareness of disability cricket develop over the years and described how his own son had "loved his cricket".
Mr Furber's other son Christopher has enjoyed huge success coaching GB's paralympic teams in cycling, swimming, and now in canoeing.
He said: "When I received the e-mail, when my wife Pam came back in I said I think this is a hoax, but there are so many people who do so much work as volunteers.
"You do not do it for the glory but it is nice to be recognised, that someone thinks you are doing a decent job."
He added: "I have been doing is non-stop since 1989. I continued to do it after Richard passed away and I have always said as a coach, when you get an able-bodied kid doing something, showing they have responded to your coaching that is great, but when you get a cricketer with a disability doing it, it takes it to a new level."
A Shrewsbury-based member of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games team has been acknowledged for her part in the success of the Games with a BEM.
Bethan Stimpson has been given the BEM for services to young people from her role as Head of Legacy for the Games.
The 27-year-old saw a gap in what the games had to offer young people, identifying that large numbers were closed out of the opportunities to work on the games or be part of the volunteer workforce.
She co-designed the first Commonwealth Games mini-volunteering programme and established Gen22 for 16–24-year-olds in 2021, with the programme now helping 1,000 young people to put their social action ideas into practice, and developing skills across digital, creative and physical activity projects.
She has successfully won more than £1 million in funding, and established partnerships which are set to continue beyond the games.
She said: "I will admit to having a little squeal of joy when I found out and after what has been such a difficult year and a huge amount of work that went into the project, it's really lovely to be recognised.
"It's also wonderful recognition for the rest of the team and everyone who has worked with me, so it's equally special for them and I'm excited to share this award with them.
"I feel really proud of the legacy that we've achieved from this project and the plan is to leverage additional funding for the longer term for Gen22 and I'm actively working at the moment with my team to seek additional funding to keep the project running."
Patricia Ward-Jones, from Bridgnorth has also been awarded the BEM for charitable services to terminally ill children and their families.
The 69-year-old has been a fundraiser for Promise Dreams, a national registered children’s charity based in Wolverhampton, for more than 17 years.
The charity aims to help terminally ill children and their families, and she has worked tirelessly in her time as a fundraiser, organising many events which have raised more than £50,000 for the charity.
The tens of thousands of pounds that she has raised have been used in countless ways to change the lives of sick children and their families, including trips to Disneyland and the purchasing of specialised medical equipment.
She said: "I feel proud to have been awarded this honour and I am very grateful to all the family and friends and supporters who have helped me fund raise for Promise Dreams.
"It just seems like something that happens to other people and I don't think I've done anything particularly special as I've just done my usual charity work, but I'm happy to accept it on behalf of the charity.
"We are only a small charity and I've been there for 17 years and we all do our best to raise money to fulfil the dreams of these terminally ill children, and that to me is what it is all about."
Claire Crackett DL, from Stanton upon Hine, has received the MBE for voluntary and charitable service in the county.
The 61-year-old has been part of two county charities Shrewsbury Homes for All, and A4U, for more than 20 years.
Shrewsbury Homes for All helps provide housing for the homeless, while A4U works with people with disabilities to empower them to improve their lives.
Also in her role as a Deputy Lieutenant (DL) she led the project to produce a new roll of honour for the Great War for Shropshire, as well as organising weekly remembrance services throughout the 100th anniversary of the war.
She said she had been "completely discombobulated" to find out she would be receiving the honour, and paid tribute to her fellow volunteers and her family for their support.
She said: "It is not just me, it is never just one individual, an individual might be given an honour but I know everything I have achieved is with wonderful teams of people and I want to thank them all for working with me, going with some of my madder ideas, and helping make Shropshire a bit better place."
She said both charities were hugely important to her.
She said: "Both of them mean lots, and I am lucky enough to wake up every morning knowing where I am going to be sleeping that night, I have got a safe and secure home. Working with Shrewsbury Homes for All, which does what it says on the tin, is what we want for everyone so I am delighted to be part of it."
She added: "A4U believe that every individual is paramount and we are here to help people who happen to have a disability to live life to the full, however that life looks – it is their life and we are happy to help them live it in the fullest way they can."
The King’s representative in the county, Lord Lieutenant Anna Turner, said she was thrilled to see people’s selfless efforts recognised.
She said: “I am always delighted and incredibly proud of people doing wonderful things in Shropshire. These people are an example of those who have reached the standard worthy of an award like this. It is fantastic.”
Honours for our region
Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
Ian Richard Green, from Builth Wells, chief executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust, for services to charity and to public health.
Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
Helen Claire Crackett, from Shrewsbury, for voluntary and charitable service in Shropshire.
Professor David Charles Mangham from Shrewsbury, Professor of Musculoskeletal Pathology, University of Manchester and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, for services to forensic science.
James Bernard Partridge and Elizabeth Anne Walmsley, from Oswestry, for services to design.
Major Derek John Munro, from Brecon, Cadet Executive Officer, Gwent and Powys Army Cadet Force, for services to the Army Cadet Forces in South Wales.
Karen Lesley Williams, administrative officer at Welshpool Magistrates' Court, HM Courts and Tribunals Service, for services to the administration of justice and to charity.
Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM)
Pauline Anne Dee, from Wem, for services to the community in Wem.
Graham Arthur Furber, from Shrewsbury, for services to cricket, to disability sport and to the community in Shropshire.
Tom Michel Hatfield, from Wellington, station manager with Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service, for services to the Covid-19 response in Shropshire.
Bethan Louise Stimpson, from Shrewsbury, lately Head of Legacy at Birmingham 2022, for services to young people.
Patricia Anne Ward-Jones, from Bridgnorth, fundraiser, Promise Dreams, for charitable services to terminally ill children and their families.
Dr Andrew David Raynsford, from Llanidloes, General Practitioner, Arwystli Medical Practice, Powys, for services to the NHS in Wales.
