Graham Stuart, Member of Parliament for Beverley and Holderness, has congratulated Darren England for being awarded a Point of Light from the Prime Minister.
After celebrating Darren’s sterling work in October by making him one of his Community Champions, Graham felt it was right for him to be recognised by the Prime Minister for his amazing achievements so nominated him for this award.
Darren is the President of the Withernsea Armed Forces and Veterans Breakfast Club, which gives forty people who served our country a safe place to socialise, receive advice and feel part of the community.
For too long the town was without a Royal British Legion branch, but this has changed thanks to Darren’s tireless work. It is now a cornerstone of the community with over thirty members. Every year he leads a group of volunteers to create a magnificent poppy cascade at Withernsea Pier as a poignant backdrop to the town’s Remembrance Sunday Service.
Many people say they will go far and wide for their community, but in Darren’s case he really means it. He travels across Europe in his own time to visit soldiers’ graves and researches their life story so that people in Yorkshire know of the brave work their parents and grandparents did for our country. This is a great comfort to them and demonstrates the lengths he will go for our veterans.
The Points of Light awards was first established by President George H.W. Bush in 1990 to recognise the outstanding voluntary work that individuals are doing every day in our communities. The UK Government launched their own version of this project in April 2014 and Darren is the 2268th recipient of this award.
Darren England, the winner of the award, commented: “I was surprised to be nominated and honoured to receive the award given recent Points of Light winners. It is a privilege to work with and for veterans. I started the local Armed Forces Veterans Breakfast Club and restarted The Royal British Legion with them in mind. There was very little opportunity for veterans to socialise in the area and it is great to see our veterans prospering. I also organise Remembrance events for the town and volunteer for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission conducting tours of military graves remembering those that gave their lives.”
Graham Stuart said: “We hear bad news on a daily basis, but wonderful people are doing amazing things in our community every day. Darren is one of those people. That’s why I wanted to ensure he was recognised by the Prime Minister for his tireless work in Withernsea and beyond to support our veterans and bring the community together on Remembrance Sunday. Darren looks after our heroes and this makes him a hero to many, including me.”
