Monday 12 April 2021

The Day I met The Duke

Hi there everyone 😀

It was with sadness that we heard last week of the passing of Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. It seems a shame he didn’t quite make his 100th birthday, but what an incredible life he must have lead.

I felt it might be worth a little trip down memory lane to share some very old, and fairly rubbish, photos of the day that I got to meet him ... fairly up close and personal.

At school I’d participated in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, achieving Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards ...

I still have my little log book where records were kept of all the activities that I carried out whilst participating in the scheme ...

I can’t for the life of me remember being presented with my bronze award but the silver was presented by the Earl of Lichfield at The Friary School in Lichfield.

At some point, I’m not entirely sure when, for some reason I was selected to represent our school at an event held at the Staffordshire County Showground, where The Duke was due to visit. Here is a picture of us all waiting to meet the man himself ... in case you are wondering I am third from the right on the back row ... looking very slim and with some very serious flicked out hair going on ...

It was possible to take photos, no selfies back then, and whilst they aren’t my best work ... you can definitely tell who it is ...


I have a couple more very old photos of me whilst taking part in the programme. This one was taken by a local paper of me volunteering at an adult literacy class ...

... and here I am ready to set out from a Youth Hostel on an expedition up in The Peak District. Not quite sure what I'm holding, but it could be my trusty Silva compass ... no GPS in those days ...

That actually wasn’t the only time that I met the Duke. Having achieved my Gold Award I did get invited to St James's Palace in March 1984 to be presented with my award by The Duke and had a big day out to the capital on the train ...

Here is a picture of me in my requisite hat mooching round the capital before heading to The Palace ...
I think that these two occasions are the only brushes that I've had with royalty ... I must admit on both I did feel quite proud ... though incredibly nervous 😟

I got so much from taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme ... in addition to meeting The Duke ... I guess there are two keys things that have always stayed with me since then ... the importance of being able to give something back, through volunteering and a love for the countryside and getting off the beaten track ... in particular The Peak District.

It's good to know that the scheme will live on under the watchful eye of Prince Edward, The Earl of Wessex ... though I did read the other day that eventually he will inherit The Duke of Edinburgh's title, which seems quite fitting 😀

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8 comments:

  1. What wonderful memories & loved seeing your old photos & hearing all about it. Good on you for taking part & achieving so much. Thanks for sharing, take care & hugs.

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    1. Thank you Susan ... it was a really good experience ... so different from ‘just being at school’, take care 😃

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    1. I’m so glad I got to see him for real 😃

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  3. Thank you for this and well done for reaching Gold I only managed Bronze before I found Girls more attractive than spend time as an air cadet and gave up the award scheme and the ATC. I was also terribly upset by Prince Phillips death I think it seemed like the closing of a chapter in my Book of Life. Best Wishes ALAN x


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    1. Thank you Alan ... lovely to hear from you. I’d hope you and your family are all well. We have another big step out of lockdown this week so fingers crossed all goes well 😃

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  4. Brilliant memories Carol, ones you can treasure forever. I never met the Duke, however my mum lives near Lowther Castle which used to hold annual Horse Trials, quite a big event. My stepfather had a milk round and delivered milk to the showground. Prince Phillip was there most years taking part in the carriage driving and bombing round in a Landover, so my stepfather talked to him a couple of times. X

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