A SPECIAL PRESENTATION FOR A SPECIAL PERSON
by Patricia Duke‐Cox and Beatrice McGlen
Ian Vincent is the Special Person who was awarded the British Empire Medal for services to croquet this year. Although it was announced in the 2024 New Year Honours that Ian was to become a Medallist of the Order of the British Empire, it took a while for the award to be made tangible. He was invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace on a very wet afternoon in May (the day before the then Prime Minister got soaked when announcing the election), but these medals are presented locally. He was offered a date in April, but had planned to be abroad on holiday, so the first available opportunity was in late September. The celebration began with Ian’s guests who joined him for lunch at a French restaurant in the city. This enabled our President, Patricia Duke‐Cox and our Chief Executive, Beatrice McGlen, both also members of the Nottingham Club, to meet his personal guests before the formal presentation. Along with three other recipients (two for services to local communities and one to the NHS), we all attended a ceremony at Nottingham’s Council House. On arrival we were welcomed and offered light refreshments. We had an opportunity to chat to the other recipients and their guests and were able to admire the splendid displays of silverware held at the Council House and then inspect the medals to be awarded to the four candidates.
Permission to take photographs was given but a professional photographer was also present and willing to take group photos, some of which we have added to this report. The medals were presented by the Lord‐Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire, Professor Veronica Pickering, who was supported by her deputies, who read the citations, her administrator and a couple of military cadets, and the proceedings concluded with tea and cakes. It was a lovely ceremony and an honour to share Ian’s special moment.
www.croquetengland.org.uk | 14
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