Burghfield Community group member honoured with special award at Platinum Jubilee event in London

A Burghfield resident was recognised by royalty at a special Jubilee event in London for his dedicated service to a variety of different voluntary causes.

David Gregory, 57, was presented with one of the Royal Voluntary Service’s platinum champion awards by Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall at The Oval cricket ground on Sunday, June 5.

Out of the 490 award recipients, Mr Gregory was one of the 70 most outstanding volunteers that were invited to the special garden party at Sunday lunchtime, and were also given seats for Saturday evening’s ‘Party at the Palace’.

He said on receiving the award: “I was struck by how kind and focused the Duchess of Cornwall was on all of the recipients.

“She was genuinely interested and got a bit behind time. She had a word for us all.”

In addition to his platinum champion award, Mr Gregory was also awarded a Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal for his ongoing voluntary work responding to 999 medical emergencies for the NHS in his local community.

“The royals really wanted to make it clear how much they value volunteering as the backbone of society and how much they believe in serving others first as a noble cause,” he said.

“It has motivated me even more to give back to my community.”

Mr Gregory, who works in IT and has lived in Burghfield since 1997 with his wife Sarah, has dedicated much of his life to helping and serving others.

His impressive voluntary experience includes 17 years working for the NHS Ambulance service, volunteering for the St John Ambulance during the pandemic, and being part of the NHS Community Responders programme.

Most prominent though is his work with the Burghfield Community group, of which he is lead editor.

Mr Gregory’s numerous contributions to the group include creating an emergency drivers scheme, donating and installing AED defibrillators to community sites, helping to train residents in first aid and assisting various other voluntary organisations in the area.

He added: “I was really honoured to be recognised for my volunteering. All volunteers do it for the outcome not the income.

“It's really important to me to give back – my father instilled that in me.”

As well as his ambulance work, Mr Gregory also helped organise medicine deliveries across two rural villages during the pandemic.

He also provided a local helpline with other voluntary groups that included doctors, pharmacists and the West Berkshire Council adult social care team to ensure people’s needs were met while shielding.

Mr Gregory is also a community link for his local parish and district councils and runs a Facebook support group within the village.