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Grays man awarded British Empire Medal

29th September 2020
Posted by Johnny Jenkins

Seven Essex people have been honoured with the British Empire Medal at a special socially-distanced ceremony in Chelmsford.

A nurse, an Essex fireman and community volunteers, were among those presented with the British Empire Medal on behalf of the Queen by Essex Lord-Lieutenant Mrs Jennifer Tolhurst at an investiture ceremony at County Hall on Friday, 11th September.

The ceremony was held with all attendees wearing face coverings until seated and keeping strict social distancing at all times. The medals were placed on a cushion for recipients to collect to avoid any contact. 

Mrs Tolhurst said:

“It is very good indeed to be able to get together, albeit in most unusual circumstances, following the government regulations, to recognise those in our county of Essex, who do so much. 

“The qualities that are exemplified by all those who we honour are selfless support, a real interest in improving people’s lives and making a considerable contribution to their communities.  Without people such as these our lives and our country would be much the poorer.”

One of those awarded was George Wilson from Grays, who received the BEM for voluntary service to young people.

He has helped thousands of young Sea Cadets from all over the country to benefit from training courses during his 20 years commitment.

He organised and ran engineering courses from Clapton Sea Cadet Unit in North London. He writes all course material and oversees the running of the national marine engineering courses in addition to running national meetings to standardise training. He is responsible for thousands of cadets receiving high quality training.

Image: Mr G Wilson from Grays receives a British Empire Medal from the Lord-Lieutenant of Essex Mrs Jennifer Tolhurst 

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