A man from Buckinghamshire was ‘surprised’ after being named on King Charles’s New Year Honours list.

Alan Williams has been given a British Empire Medal (BEM) for his hands-on services helping the community in Edlesborough, a parish village in the Aylesbury Vale area.

The 72-year-old Parish Council chair spends all his free time working with different volunteer groups.

He commented the honours: “I felt rather surprised, because I nominated somebody else during the Covid crisis. And I had communications from them, and the Cabinet Office rang me up asking if I had seen their email.

“I thought it was a hoax, but it wasn’t! So obviously I’m honoured and surprised, because there are lots of people who volunteer, and don’t get recognised.”

Alan threw himself into volunteering in 2005 following retirement from his job in mergers and acquisitions a year prior.

“I had a job that took me all over Europe and around the world - I hadn’t put much back into the village for a long time. When my kids were at school I was the chairman of the local PTA, and then I worked on my career and retired early.”

After retiring, he and a group of others started work on the Parish plan, which was published in 2008.

“By then I joined the Parish Council, and it just snowballed from there.”

He worked on the Community Car Service to help residents to get to hospital and other appointments, later as a chairman of the Parish Council, and work started to build a new pavilion, of which he became a trustee.

The other worthwhile projects Alan has been key part of include work through Friends of the Church on the Hill, such as events, maintaining the churchyard, theatre groups and seven years of EdleFest music festival.

Alan has helped Edlesborough Community Sports Club to gain finances for its community hub for events and a gym that has already proved popular. 

As well as supporting local volunteer teams, Alan has helped to upgrade streetlights, fitted floodlights at the church, installed acoustic panels in the Edlesborough Memorial Hall, improved parish traffic conditions with the EDaN Traffic Management Team, looked after speed watch equipment and bid for funding from the Community Board for three Mobile Vehicle Activated Signs.

“I find it difficult to say no,” he laughed.

“My wife says ‘why don’t you say no’ – I always say yes.

“Without volunteers, this country wouldn’t work.”

In the new year, Alan’s hopes include raising money to replace the church stain glass window, find more drivers for the Community Car Service, and set up the pavilion as a Warm Space.

“We have to move forward and think ‘what else’ as a new project, like putting up a playground on the village green.”

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