In the early 1960s I had the good fortune to meet Prince Philip. I was one in a group of East End teenagers doing their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. The group had been set up by a teacher in school and was called the Explorer Club. We pursued many activities, as per the scheme, which were interesting and fun. Walks of 14/15 miles a day were not unusual. One took place in deep snow. It was so deep that it tumbled into our wellington boots. We visited the Roman remains in St Albans and walked in fields skirting the then newly constructed M1. We had residential trips to various youth hostels, including one near Hastings, another in the Cotswolds, as well another in the Peak District. We explored other venues from these bases, as well as completing the necessary challenges. One memorable challenge was to walk to the source of the Thames-achieved.

We performed on the stage of the Hoxton Music Hall, a very historic building, in order to entertain the local OAPs.

The Red Cross came in to teach us First Aid. I later joined the St John Ambulance Service, even being called in to help out in a local hospital during a crisis.

I achieved the bronze and silver awards before leaving home in September 1964. I moved to Brighton to train as a teacher. At that time it was unusual for anyone from the working class to go into further education. My original specialism was Biology so I spent a lot of time in the open air doing fieldwork. I taught for 40 years. During that time I organized educational visits, as well as residential ‘School Journeys’, encouraging my pupils in the kinds of activities I had been able to participate in.

I am acutely aware that the skills I gained from doing my DofE Awards have shaped me and stayed with me throughout the 74 years of my life. They have helped make me the person I am. For that I am truly grateful and remain intensely proud that I did it. I sincerely thank Price Philip for setting up the Awards Scheme.