Local MP Graham Stuart presented Darren England with his certificate from the Prime Minister for being one of his Points of Light.
Graham joined Darren and forty veterans for a bacon butty and cup of tea at the Withernsea Armed Forces and Veterans Club. Darren is the President of the club, which gives people who served our country a safe place to socialise, receive advice and feel part of the community; so it felt right to celebrate his great achievement with them all.
He praised Darren for his tireless efforts to make the town a better place; whether this be through leading a group of volunteers to create a magnificent poppy cascade at Withernsea Pier for the town’s Remembrance Sunday Service or for leading the town’s Royal British Legion branch. This led to a rapturous applause from everyone there, with each one of them benefitting from Darren’s outstanding work.
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 all the time, but wonderful people are doing amazing things in our community every day. Darren is one of those people. That’s why I was delighted to present him with his certificate from the Prime Minister for his outstanding 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.”
