MBE honour for dedicated Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service volunteer manager

Roy managed over 110 volunteers, delivering over 10,000 working hours each year to keep communities safe and support vulnerable residents while working for Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service (HFRS) and Trading Standards.

He established and managed the fire and rescue service’s Community Safety Volunteer Scheme which proved invaluable in helping to reduce the number of deliberate fires in affected areas, with the use of anti-arson patrols.

Community volunteers also proved a valuable resource in supporting hard to reach and vulnerable communities, assisting local fire crews in providing much needed home safety advice, including fitting over 4,000 smoke alarms.

Roy was HFRS Employee of the Year 2009, runner-up in The Guardian Public Service Awards 2011 and received an Outstanding Contribution to Volunteering award by Hertfordshire County Council in 2017.

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Director for Community Protection and Chief Fire Officer, Darryl Keen said: “Hertfordshire Fire & Rescue service are immensely proud of Roy whose MBE is so richly deserved in recognition of his many years of hard, diligent and dedicated work for voluntary services.

“Roy’s unstinting dedication to providing outstanding volunteer support and setting up successful initiatives will continue to have positive impacts for the fire service and local communities for years to come. We are extremely fortunate to have had Roy as a colleague and wish him many congratulations on receiving this prestigious award.”

Roy, who left the fire service in May after 14 years, also introduced a 24/7 volunteer emergency response team for victims of fires and floods and managed the central community safety team, serving as lead manager for road safety.

He was also the first in the UK to set up a job finders club at a fire station to help individuals seek employment by providing job hunting advice, coaching on CV writing and interview skills. Over 550 people attended the sessions, with 20 per cent gaining employment as a direct result.

Roy, who has been a trustee/director of several charities over the last 30 years, is now living in Chorley, Lancashire with his wife Alison and two daughters, Jessica, 28, and Fiona, 23.

Commenting on receiving his MBE notification, Roy said: “It came through in a very formal-looking brown envelope which I thought was from the tax office, but when I saw it was from the Cabinet Office I was absolutely gobsmacked! It took a long while for it to sink in, but I am absolutely delighted and really humbled.

“I’d like to dedicate it to all the volunteers I have worked with over the last 20 years, from my work with the fire volunteers to the Special Constabulary and all the other community groups I’ve managed.

“You go through life wondering whether you’ve done the right thing – in some ways a lot of my volunteering work was to the detriment of my career – but to get this honour makes it all so worthwhile.”