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    31

    Dec 2022

    Last Updated: 30/12/2022
    Community
    Community

    Honour for Killinghall resident after five decades of volunteering

    by Vicky Carr

    | 31 Dec, 2022
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    anne-holdsworth

    A long-serving community volunteer has been awarded the British Empire Medal in the King's New Year Honours.

    Anne Holdsworth has served on Killinghall Parish Council since 1973, including as its current chair.

    It is just one of the roles she has held over many decades, giving her time and energy for the benefit of the village community and others.

    After receiving a letter about the honour a few weeks ago, she told the Stray Ferret yesterday:

    "It was a huge surprise and a great honour - totally unexpected. I've no idea who put me forward, but I'm very grateful for it."


    Her first public role came after she had her two daughters and attended a mobile clinic. A health visitor spotted a born organiser and signed Cllr Holdsworth up to help once a month.

    She went on to help with a meals on wheels service and joined the village hall committee.

    Among Cllr Holdsworth's achievements was helping to set up a youth club in the village, as well as pushing through a project to raise money and extend the village hall.

    She sat on the health authority and was a governor of Killinghall Primary School, also serving on the committee of the group of Harrogate primary schools.

    She also represented the parish council at borough and county council level.



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    When the first community radio station launched in Harrogate, Cllr Holdsworth got involved, borrowing equipment from the BBC in Leeds to go out and interview people around the area.

    At the same time, she was working full-time for the Forensic Science Society in Harrogate, from which she retired after a 25-year career.

    Cllr Holdsworth said a willingness to get involved and help get things done came naturally to her generation. Although she has missed out on receiving her honour from the late Queen, she said she still feels a connection to her through it.

    "I've grown up with her, as it were. I remember her father, and her wedding. I was a child when they got married. My mother was very keen on following it.
    "We try to emulate her standard, the majority of people of my age. My mother used to be involved in her community and I went everywhere with her, so life has evolved in the same way."


    Now a grandmother of two and great-grandmother of one, Cllr Holdsworth only told her family about her honour yesterday.

    She has seen a great deal of change in Killinghall over the years - "some good, some bad" - but continues to serve her community through both the parish council and the village hall committee.

    As the village continues to evolve, she hopes more locals, including many of the residents moving into new housing in the parish, will consider giving up some of their time in future too.

    Reflecting on why she has given so much time to so many roles over the years, Cllr Holdsworth said:

    "I'm a meddler, as people might say!
    "I enjoyed it. I've never been bored, even after I retired. I just wish I had more years to add."