Maurice Brayford, Ben Proctor, Hilary Rea (Photo: Stuart Coleman©2013)
Maurice Brayford was awarded the 2012 Diggle Heroes trophy by the residents of Diggle for his outstanding contribution to the community.
Villagers are nominated by local residents for either making a significant contribution to the Diggle Community or for accomplishing something exceptional during the past year.
Maurice, who voluntarily maintains the clock at Shaw’s Pallet Mill received the largest number of votes from local residents. He said, ‘I am very pleased to win this year after being shortlisted for the award in 2011.’
Maurice has, since retiring from Shaw’s Pallett Works, taken it upon himself to keep Diggle on time. On a daily basis he voluntarily checks and cares for the Shaw’s clock, a key feature of our village
Maurice’s sponsors said, ‘He is the epitome of a good neighbour… He is community minded and is always ready to help others…He is a long time resident of Diggle and recognition of his contribution to village life is well deserved.” To read more about Maurice click here.
The 2012 runners-up for the award were local teacher Hilary Rea and para-olympic swimmer Ben Proctor.
Sponsors for Hilary said, ‘She represents the unsung champions of Diggle and epitomises what it means to be a great citizen…She should be recognised and applauded for her efforts and values and thanked for helping all our children to thrive…She puts in many extra hours, above and beyond the call of duty, in her role as a teacher at Diggle Primary School…She is the lynchpin of the spring concert, ferrying musical instruments to and from the civic hall…She conducts and organises the school choir and plays the piano for school productions, often, on her days off.
Hilary gives her time freely to the mother and baby group “Diggle Ducklings” and also finds time to support the charity “Love Russia” where she jets off for two weeks in the summer to help disadvantaged children. Until the closure of Wrigley Mill, she also ran the community groups, cod squad and little fishes.
Ben Proctor was nominated for his outstanding sporting achievements. He was selected to represent Team Great Britain in the swimming in the 2012 Paralympics. His sponsors said, ‘This is a fantastic achievement and is testament to his dedication and hard work…Ben is a great role model and has set a standard for others to aspire to.’
Even though Ben’s schedule has been very demanding he has always found time to support community events. He recently opened the Kiln Green Christmas fair where he gave local children an opportunity to have their photograph taken holding his olympic medal.
In addition to the Diggle Heroes award, a special award was made in memory of Nicola Hughes who had been nominated by many people in the village.
Nicola was a police constable serving with the Greater Manchester Police force when she was tragically murdered whilst serving the community.
These are some of the thoughts of Diggle residents, ‘Nicola was a Diggler through and through and she will be sorely missed…She tragically lost her life whilst just doing her job and will be missed by all those who knew her…Her loss has touched the nation and has made all of us consider deeply the job that the police do on our behalf.’
Stuart Coleman, chairman of the Diggle Community Association, said, “The commitment and achievement of this year’s nominees is exemplary and it is very fitting that they should be publicly recognised and rewarded for their efforts. They reflect the truly remarkable people we have living in Diggle”
For further information about Diggle Heroes and the work of the Diggle Community Association click here.
