Royal honour for Bramham volunteers

Ian and Christine Dalton, Mick and Christine Wray, Keith and Vicky Innocent, along with guests Jo and Mark Ogden, attended the Queen’s Garden Party at Buckingham Palace, attended by Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall and Anne, Princess Royal.

The invitation, from the Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, was made to mark the difference their dedication to Bramham.

Resident Alison Mackie said: “Bramham is a thriving village and extremely vibrant place to live. The reason for this is down to the commitment and hardwork of so many people living in the village who are prepared to give up their precious time, volunteering to make things happen within the village.”

And four members of the Village Hall Committee - Ian, Christine, Mick and Christine - recently received a Duke of York Community Initiative Award at a ceremony in Catterick Garrison, for the work they had done in transforming the village hall from a dilapidated village asset into a thriving hub of activity.

“These Bramham volunteers play a role within many aspects of village life including Parish Council positions, Bramham Village Hall Management Committee, Bramham Drama Group, Bramham in Bloom, Bramham Community Action Group to name a few,” added Alison.

“These groups are made up of many volunteers, who help throughout the year, but these volunteers are the key to success of building the incredible community spirit within Bramham Village.

“These very generous residents have all been involved with groups for 20 or more years and hours of their precious time is given up every week making Bramham a fabulous place to live.

“They have been the driving force behind Bramham Gala, Bramham Pantomime, Christmas Lights, Bramham Wine Club, Christmas Day lunch for people living alone and the Annual Beer Festival to name a few events.

“They also run, maintain and improve Bramham Village Hall as a facility that hosts sport, drama, celebrations, clubs and meetings 365 days a year.”

The group continuously fund raise and engage sponsors to make improvements to village facilities and support those in the village who are less fortunate.

Ian Dalton and Mick Wray also started the renovation of a cottage (attached to the village hall) completely voluntarily.

They spent weekends pulling down walls through to laying floors in order to generate an income to the village. This now provides an affordable home for a young family.

In addition Keith and Vicky played a big part in Bramham in Bloom planting and maintaining the flower beds and started our village Gala and Open Garden events that are now annual events on the village calendar. Bramham regularly receives gold star status in the Bramham in Bloom judging.

The last two years, on top of everything they do, Ian, Mick, the two Christine’s, Keith and Vicky hosted a Christmas Day lunch for anyone within the village who would be alone on Christmas Day.