British Empire Medal presentation Tuesday 30th April 2019 Motherwell Civic Centre – Article prepared by five pupils from Dalziel High School , Motherwell
“After our victory at the Lanarkshire Lieutenancy public speaking competition we were invited to attend the presentation of the British Empire Medal. The British Empire Medal is a medal awarded for meritorious, civil or military service worthy of recognition by the crown. The two recipients of this award were Mrs. Elizabeth Tennent Brown Wilson who was receiving this award for her admirable services to the community in Uddingston, and Mrs. Elizabeth Rice who was awarded her medal for her exemplary services to music education.
The event began with Des Murray, Chief Executive of North Lanarkshire Council and Clerk to the Lieutenancy giving an introduction.
Councillor Jean Jones the Provost of North Lanarkshire Council then welcomed everyone and congratulated Mrs. Wilson and Mrs. Rice on their hard work and commitment. She expressed that they should be very proud as they are a credit to their communities.
As we then moved onto the summary of citation and the presentation of medals, Mr. Des Murray spoke and told us all about the day to day work put in by both the recipients. Lady Haughey CBE, Lord Lieutenant of Lanarkshire then presented Mrs. Wilson and Mrs. Rice with their medals.
The Provost of South Lanarkshire, Councillor Ian McAllan, closed the presentation and invited everyone for refreshments.
During the event we had the privilege of speaking to Lady Haughey, who presented the recipients with their medals on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen. Lady Haughey was very pleased with how the event went and thought it was a “wonderful day”.
She told us that she thought the awards were very well deserved and the recipients should be very proud of themselves for the outstanding work they have done for their communities. She also told us that it was a real privilege for her to present the British Empire Medal to these citizens who have worked for many years selflessly to be an asset to their local area. Lady Haughey also thought the event was very emotional and even saw a tear in the eyes of the recipients. The Lord Lieutenant was very pleased to see that the recipients of the award and their families had made a day of the event.
We also had the privilege of speaking to the Provosts Jean Jones, Ian McAllan
Provost McAllan felt that it was a fitting day for the recipients for all the work they have done in their communities over the years and that it was great that they can finally be given the recognition they deserve for their selfless service, and that it was their day to be in the spotlight for what they have done.
Provost Jones very much agreed with Provost McAllan with it being a wonderful day and that she felt very privileged to be part of the ceremony.
Mrs. Elizabeth Wilson explained that she was ‘gobsmacked’ that people took the time to nominate her. She has worked with lots of school children and is particularly interested in nature and animals. She has also helped many young people earn their Queen’s badge. Through opportunities like this she has met so many different people, some who have become life-long friends of hers. Her friends and family were so pleased to hear she has received a medal, it shows that her hard work is recognised . They were so glad they could be there on the day of the ceremony and are very proud of her.
The second recipient Mrs. Elizabeth Rice is an amazing woman with a huge passion for music. Mrs. Rice began playing the bagpipes at age 14 and now, 53 years later, she still uses her incredible talent to assist people of all ages discover their musical abilities. She began teaching the pipes after helping out with the Boys Brigade 32 years ago, and her commitment to teaching has been outstanding and will surely stay this way as she finds more opportunities to encourage young talent. Since its beginning in 2008, Mrs. Rice has been a keen and committed supporter of the Moodiesburn and District Pipe Band. She willingly gives up much of her free time to help these talented pipers reach the best they can be, applying her organisation and commitment skills to give her full support to all these musicians, and for this the award is extremely well deserved.
We, the pupils of Dalziel High School would like to thank the Lieutenancy of Lanarkshire for allowing us this opportunity to have been part of this special day. Again, we would like to congratulate Mrs. Wilson and Mrs. Rice on their well-deserved award.”
Picture shows Mrs Wilson (left) and Mrs Rice (centre) along with Lady Haughey and the five pupils from Dalziel High School (left to right ) Mia Richards, Lauren Hetherton, Lewis Haggart , Jack Wilson and Rosie Watson .