Two Falkirk area residents honoured by King Charles for doing what they love
Two people who have each helped their communities in their own way – but both by doing things they love – have received royal recognition in the King’s Birthday Honours.
Alice Hamilton, from Grangemouth, has been award an British Empire Medal (BEM) for her services to the Girls’ Brigade and for the local community, while Larbert’s Neil Clark has earned himself a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his years of charity work and providing music tuition to youngsters.
People will know Alice from her many years of creating – and continuing to create – hundreds of wonderful dresses for Grangemouth Children’s Day.
However, her life long love affair with the Girls’ Brigade began first.
Alice said: “I was an officer in 1st Grangemouth Girls’ Brigade for 53 years – I started when I was 15. HQ said I had to retire because I was over 70, but I’m just so passionate about the Girls’ Brigade.”
Alice says she works from January to June on the special dresses for Grangemouth Children’s Day, which is another one of her great passions.
She began creating dresses for Grangemouth Children’s Day when she was just 18 and took over as the full-time dressmaker for the event in the 1990s.
The Children’s Day committee recognised her hard work back in 2010 when she was given the honour of crowning the queen that year and in 2018 she earned the Jimmy Murphy Memorial Trophy for her efforts.
Back then Alice said: “I was really proud to be nominated for the award, but I didn’t expect it – there are lots of people in Abbotsgrange Church who do a lot of good things for the community as well.”
Fast forward eight years and the award of a BEM from King Charles was also unexpected.
"I got the shock of my life when I opened the letter,” said Alice. “I actually cried. I’m really honoured, but the Girls’ Brigade and Children’s Day, I just do them because I love it.
"I didn’t expect to get anything out of it, that was enough.” The piping exploits of Neil Clark go hand in hand with his amazing fundraising endeavours – one year he completed 12 marathons in 12 months to raise cash for MacMillan Cancer Support.
The popular piper was back at it just this month, combining his two passions of music and charity work to blow the pipes from the mouth of Baron the Kelpie to coin in cash for Forth Valley Maggie’s Centre.
Neil said: “I’m actually more pleased my dad is still alive to see me get this award – he’s really chuffed. It’s not just for me – there are a team of people involved in all the fundraising I’ve done, so I see this award as for all of them too.
"It’s team recognition.”
Neil has taught the pipes all over the world, including a stop in Oman, and helped turn Grangemouth Air Cadets pipe band into a high flying outfit, training up some of their young pipers to make them even more proficient on the instrument.
As if that is not enough, his piping tuition channel on You Tube has also helped countless people all over the world get to grips with the instrument.