A great dayout at the palace.Byline: Michelle Ruane Special honour has been bestowed on two Redcar men who were invited to Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace (bŭk`ĭng-əm), residence of British sovereigns from 1837, in Westminster metropolitan borough, London, England, adjacent to St. James's Park. . John Race and Peter Sotheran were each awarded an MBE MBE (in Britain) Member of the Order of the British Empire MBE n abbr (BRIT) (= Member of the Order of the British Empire) → título ceremonial MBE n abbr (Brit) (= in the Queen's Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours is a civic occasion on the celebration of the Queen's Birthday in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. See Also
But they had to wait until this month to accept their honour in person from the Queen at a special ceremony. Mr Race, who received his MBE for dedication to helping save lives at sea, said: "It was a wonderful experience, very formal. Buckingham Palace was very impressive. "It was a real honour to meet the Queen. She asked about my work with the RNLI RNLI (in Britain) Royal National Lifeboat Institution RNLI n abbr (BRIT) (= Royal National Lifeboat Institution) → organización benéfica que proporciona un servicio de lanchas de socorro ." A former coxswain with Teesmouth Lifeboat, his award was tinged with sadness because it followed the RNLI's bombshell decision to close the station in April. Mr Race's older brother Peter, also a lifeboatman, was awarded the MBE in 1993 for services to the gas industry. Their dad Roland was a lifeboat crew member too. He added: "My wife Sue and three children, Andrew, Sarah and Paul, are extremely proud. My parents are also extremely proud in that both sons have received an MBE." Mr Sotheran, who was awarded his MBE for his work on behalf of the Kirkleatham almshouses, said: "It was a wonderful experience and a real privilege. A real day to remember." He said as the Queen pinned the MBE to his lapel she asked about the almshouses. "I was able to remind her that Prince Charles has visited us," he said. * For more stories from this area, visit www.gazettelive.co.uk/TS10 |
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