Cramlington woman presented with British Empire Medal for her dedicated community and voluntary service.

A Cramlington woman was invited to an investiture ceremony at Alnwick Castle to receive her British Empire Medal from The Duchess of Northumberland, in her capacity as the Lord Lieutenant for the county.

 

Margaret Mitford from Cramlington was awarded her BEM for services to education. Margaret was a headteacher at Brandling Primary School in Gateshead which was described as a ‘very effective’ school by Ofsted. She was renowned for her dedicated approach to meeting vulnerable, disadvantaged children’s needs – both throughout her career and in retirement.

 

She has been a trustee of One World Network North East which works with schools across the globe to offer development and improvement. She also started a new University of the Third Age in Cramlington which quickly grew to over 100 members. When the pandemic hit, she took the group online, helping those without IT skills, to keep people connected.

 

She has also used her vast teaching expertise to train four volunteers, and plan meaningful classroom exercises to assist local Syrian refugee families to learn English.
The British Empire Medal (BEM) was revived in 2012 for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Year after it was disbanded in 1992. It is given to those engaging in voluntary work who have made a ‘hands-on’ contribution to their local community and recipients are entitled to use the post-nominal letters ‘BEM’.

 

Her Grace The Duchess of Northumberland said: “To receive a British Empire Medal is a fantastic achievement and I am delighted to be able to present these awards to four very worthy recipients. Their determination, hard work and dedication to their communities is truly commendable. They are a credit to Northumberland and an inspiration to us all.”

 

Margaret is pictured with The Duchess of Northumberland and Johnathan Gray from Ponteland was awarded the BEM for services to Policing.