Category: News

Two Legion d’Honneur medals were presented by the Lord-Lieutenant on Wednesday 20th June 2018 at the Quay Arts Centre, Newport.

Bill Shepherd – joined the services in 1941 at the age of 19 and received the  medal for his services during the Normandy Landings during World War II.

Kenneth George Morrison (deceased) – The medal was received by Ken’s sister Joyce, as Ken sadly passed away nine months ago.  Ken was the youngest of four boys who all went on to serve for over 22 years in the Army. The Legion d’Honnuer medal had been awarded to Ken for his services during the Normandy Landings during World War II.

On Monday 18th June 2018, Col Carron Snagge OBE DL, represented the Lord-Lieutenant at the Flag Raising Ceremony at St Thomas’s Square, Newport.  Vice Lord-Lieutenant, Sir Guy Acland Bt, LVO, DL and Dr Charles Mobbs DL also attended from the Isle of Wight Lieutenancy.

The Armed Forces Day flag was raised in front of local dignitaries, representatives of the armed forces, veterans and members of the public by cadets from the Military Preparation College. The flag raising ceremony is part of the Fly the Flag campaign, which enables communities to show their support for their military community, both serving and retired.

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On Saturday 16th June 2018, the Isle of Wight’s Lord-Lieutenant and Lady White took the salute at the march-past of service personnel, veterans, standard bearers and cadets in celebration of Armed Forces Day

Members of the public showed their patriotic support for service personnel past and present, throughout the country.

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On Tuesday 12 June 2018, Mrs Kate Collins DL represented the Lord-Lieutenant when she attended the Battlefields to Butterflies service at Osborne House.

The Osborne project is part of a nationwide commemorative programme initiated by the Royal Parks Guild.  Organiser Mike Fitt OBE, chairman of the Guild, is the former Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Parks for The Royal Parks and lives in Ryde.  The plot, based in the walled garden, is in memory of Britain’s parks, gardens and grounds staff who died in the First World War.

Children from Community Kids after school club at The Bay CE Primary School worked on the battlefield landscaping ranging from weeding, digging bomb craters, finding and positioning dead trees and planting out poppies, cornflowers and other native plants that changed the landscape of the Battlefields of the 1st World War into Butterfly fields within one year.

Four voluntary groups on the Island who work in the community to have been honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the MBE for voluntary groups in the UK.

The 4 groups that were successful this year are, Northwood House Charitable Trust, Isle of Wight Foodbank, Needles National Coastwatch and Ability Dogs for Young People IW.

The recipients are four of 250 volunteer-led groups to receive the prestigious award this year.  The number of awarded groups have increased again, demonstrating the continuous expansion and value of the voluntary sector in today’s society.

This is the highest award given to volunteer groups across the UK to recognise exceptional service within their communities. The recipients of the award are announced each year on 2 June – the anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation.

This year’s awardees are incredibly diverse, innovative and impactful, ranging from FISH Neighbourhood Care, an organisation committed to combating loneliness and social isolation in older and vulnerable people living in Barnes, Mortlake and East Sheen in Greater London to The Monday Night Club, providing social opportunities and sporting activities for adults with learning disabilities and autism in Worcestershire.

The Groups will receive their awards from HM Lord Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight later this year, who has said that this once again demonstrates the outstanding quality of our voluntary groups on the Island.

Tracey Crouch, Minister for Sport and Civil Society, said:

“Everyone who has received this award should be incredibly proud. Their service, commitment and care has a profoundly positive impact on communities throughout the country and I am delighted they have been recognised with this prestigious award.

“The record number of recipients this year is testament to the strength of the voluntary sector and I am sure this trend will continue into the future. If you know any organisations that deserve to be  recognised, make your voice heard and nominate them for next year.”

The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service Independent Committee Chair, former broadcast journalist Sir Martyn Lewis said:

 “This year’s record number of Queen’s Award awardees are a powerful testimony to the remarkable achievements and innovative ideas which characterise volunteering in the UK. They prove that, more than ever, volunteers beavering away at grassroots level are the active lifeblood of our communities, identifying all kinds of problems and issues and tackling them with enthusiasm, talent and a high degree of success.

“The recipients of the Queen’s Award are at the very top of a formidable volunteering movement in the UK involving millions of our citizens, and going from strength to strength.”

On Sunday 27th May 2018, the Lord-Lieutenant joined local dignitaries, veterans and cadets, at a Service held at St Mary’s Church in Cowes, to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the founding of the Royal Air Force.  Rev Andrew Poppe Sqn Ldr RAF (Retd) led the Service.

During the Service, long-standing awards were presented by the Lord-Lieutenant to Officers and Cadets from the Air Training Corps 1024 Squadron and Cowes CCF.

The Lord-Lieutenant then presented 100 year old Mr Harry Flack, who was a member of the RAF, with the Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur medal, in recognition for the part he played in the D-Day landings.

The celebrations concluded with a March Past and Salute on Cowes Parade and a fly past by a vintage Tiger Moth owned by  member of the Royal Yacht Squadron.

Mountbatten is very delighted to announce that Major General Martin White CB CBE JP, Lord-Lieutenant of the Isle of Wight, is to become their Patron.

The appointment recognises his growing support of Mountbatten’s work, which on any one day includes the 24/7 care of over 650 Islanders facing death and bereavement in the places that they live across the Island. This is in addition to Mountbatten’s hospice building in Newport, which houses 16 inpatient beds and a range of day services. The charity provides free bereavement support to people of any age, including children and families, regardless of whether the person was being cared for by Mountbatten at the time of their death. Expert teaching to other health and social care organisations forms an important part of Mountbatten’s commitment to improving end of life care for everyone across the Island. Central to Mountbatten is our commitment to developing a society which is much more comfortable and open with death, dying and bereavement.

Major General Martin White, said: “I am delighted to become Patron of Mountbatten and to join a team which is recognised as being outstanding in what they do.

“We are so fortunate to have Mountbatten on the Isle of Wight, the only end of life care charity on the Island which provides free 24-hour care and support to patients and their families. Many people still don’t realise the breadth of what Mountbatten does, or what its supporters’ hard-earned fundraising supports them to achieve. As Patron, I hope to be able to tell that story to as many people as possible, so that we can ensure continued and growing support for this very special organisation that touches the lives of so many people on the Isle of Wight.”

Sara Weech, Chair of Mountbatten Board of Trustees, said: “This is such a wonderful appointment and I am delighted that Martin has agreed to extend his existing support to us in this way. Having someone who is so passionate about our Island community, and who is so interested in how we will continue to provide the highest quality of end of life care to our residents, is so important. Martin is highly qualified in so many ways to support our cause and I am sure he will help us continue to make a difference to Islanders facing death and bereavement when they need us most.”

Nigel Hartley, Mountbatten’s Chief Executive, said: “We are incredibly fortunate that Major General Martin White has agreed to support us, and to help explain how our work impacts the lives of Islanders. It is vital that the Island knows what their generous and tireless fundraising supports.

“This year and every year, we must raise over £7 million to ensure free end of life care is available to whoever needs it, wherever they need it. We receive a small amount of financial support from the NHS, but that is not guaranteed. As an independent Isle of Wight charity, neither are we currently supported financially by other national charities including Macmillan or Marie Curie. Our Mountbatten nurses are paid for through the generous donations and fundraising of our Island community.

“With Martin’s support, I am sure many more people will start to realise how vital their fundraising is to how we can care for people facing death, dying and bereavement in the future,” he added.

The role of Patron is voluntary and extends for a period of five years.

On Monday 9th April 2018, Gioia Minghella-Giddens was sworn in as the Island’s new High Sheriff.  The ceremony at Northwood House, Cowes was presided over by HH Judge Ralls QC, in the presence of the Lord-Lieutenant and over 150 guests.
Retiring deputy lieutenant, Mr John Matthews DL was sworn in as Under High Sheriff.