Shropshire cancer support group reveals how it got to receive award from Princess Anne
A community group in Ludlow will be celebrating its recent award from the Princess Royal with a special buffet lunch.
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Ludlow Cancer Support Group was one of the voluntary groups given a King's Award for Voluntary Service during Princess Anne's visit to Much Wenlock last week.
It is the highest award a local voluntary group can receive in the UK and is equivalent to an MBE.
Now the support group is planning a buffet lunch in May when Anna Turner, the Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire, is planning to acknowledge the award. Around 60 members and guests, including several Deputy Lieutenants, have been lined up for a buffet lunch.
A spokesperson for the group said that the award came after Selina Graham, then High Sheriff of Shropshire, invited voluntary organisations throughout the county to attend a Shropshire Lieutenancy briefing session to learn more about the then Queen's Award for Voluntary Service.
Group Treasurer and Webmaster, Howard Goslyn, attended a meeting in 2022 and it was subsequently agreed that an application would be submitted. Ludlow town councillor, Erica Garner, nominated the group, and work began on compiling a detailed report and answering the many in-depth questions.
"We worked closely with our local assessors, Deputy Lieutenants Nicky Kershaw and Katherine Garnier, and were delighted when we learnt that our application had passed the initial eligibility requirements," said a group spokesperson.
"However, the death of Her Majesty the Queen, Elizabeth II, in September 2022, delayed commencement of the full-scale national assessments.
"By May 2023, The Queen’s Awards had become The King’s Awards, and in October, we learnt that His Majesty The King has approved the KAVS National Assessment Committee’s recommendation that the volunteers of Ludlow Cancer Support Group should receive The King’s Award for Voluntary Service (KAVS) 2023.
"This represents a tremendous achievement and we hope that the group’s volunteers will feel immensely proud of it.”
The official announcement was made on November 14, the King’s birthday.
Ludlow Cancer Support Group, together with the other seven award-winners, was honoured that HRH Princess Anne agreed to do this.
The group's spokesperson said: "21 members and supporters attended the ceremony, and afterwards one member was heard to say 'what a wonderful day. I am so proud to belong to the Ludlow Cancer Support Group; it's a real family'.”
