Duchess presents British Empire Medals to dedicated Northumberland residents

The recipients were awarded their honours at two special investiture ceremonies at Alnwick Castle by the Duchess of Northumberland, in her capacity as the Lord Lieutenant for the county.

Jon Gray from Ponteland was awarded the BEM for services to policing. Just one day after retiring as a regular officer with Northumbria Police, he joined as a Special Constable, serving 43 years in total with the force – 13 of those as a volunteer.

He is a familiar face and reassuring presence to many, more recently in the Ponteland area where he carries out high-visibility foot patrols, attends call outs and gathers evidence. He also worked hard throughout the Covid-19 pandemic to support his local community.

Margaret Mitford from Cramlington was awarded her BEM for services to education. Margaret was a headteacher at Brandling Primary School in Gateshead, which was described as a ‘very effective’ school by Ofsted.

She started a new University of the Third Age in Cramlington, which quickly grew to more than 100 members. When the pandemic hit, she took the group online – helping those without IT skills to keep people connected.

She has also used her vast teaching expertise to train four volunteers and plan meaningful classroom exercises to assist local Syrian refugee families to learn English.

Simon Banks from Kielder was awarded his BEM for services to forestry. He has dedicated more than four decades to public service, furthering forestry, timber harvesting and supply.

Michael Scott from Wark was also awarded the BEM for services to policing. He is the longest serving volunteer Northumbria Police has ever had, dedicating 37 years to volunteering.

The BEM is given to those engaging in voluntary work who have made a ‘hands-on’ contribution to their local community and recipients are entitled to use the post-nominal letters ‘BEM’.

The Duchess of Northumberland said: “To receive a British Empire Medal is a fantastic achievement and I am delighted to be able to present these awards to four very worthy recipients.

“Their determination, hard work and dedication to their communities is truly commendable. They are a credit to Northumberland and an inspiration to us all.”