On Friday 23rd October, His Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Devon presented seven British Empire Medals on behalf of the King. He was assisted by three of his Lord-Lieutenant Cadets, Leading Cadet Freya Corstin, Cadet Flight Sergeant Jamie Scofield, and Cadet Lance Corporal Isobel Cann.
British Empire Medals are awarded for very “hands-on” service to the community in a local geographical area. Those awarded were:
- Anne Dickinson BEM – for services to Early Years Education
- Katherine Drew BEM – for relations with the Solomon Islands
- John Peel BEM – for voluntary service to the Royal Marines, the Roya Marines Charity and the Veteran Community
- Valerie Royle BEM – for services to the community in Honiton, Devon
- Dr Edmund Shillabeer BEM – for services to Charitable Fundraising, to Athletics and to the community in Plymouth, Devon
- Hannah Sloggett BEM – for Charitable Service
- Commodore Stephen Thorne BEM RD – for services to the community in Dorset
The Lord Lieutenant also invested two new Deputy Lieutenants during the ceremony. They assist the work of the Lord Lieutenant by supporting and representing him in ceremonial and community duties, as The King’s representative in the County. Those commissioned were:
- Diana Crump DL – Diana has lived in Exeter for thirty years, following happy childhood memories in rural East Devon. She cares deeply about supporting those people whose voice is not always heard alongside those smaller charities who work across our local communities. Following a career in the NHS, she led a Devon-wide disability user-led charity for many years. Now semi-retired, she has recently been appointed as CEO of the new Torbay, Plymouth and Devon Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Assembly. Open to all, the Assembly works to strengthen the voice of the charitable sector across Devon at strategic level. As well as mentoring Chairs and CEOs of charities, she also represents the VCSE on the NHS ICB Peninsular Board and other statutory committees. She is a very proud mother and grandmother and a keen amateur violinist.
- John Laramy CBE DL – John was brought up on a family farm in North Devon. After a career in the construction industry, he became a Further Education Lecturer and is now Principal & CEO of Exeter & North Devon Colleges Group. He was awarded a CBE in 2020 for Services to Education and lives near Exeter. John is involved in several local and national activities, mainly connected to young people and education.