Peter Todd
On Wednesday 6th March 1968 having only recently passed my driving test, my Farther sat in the back seat of the family car doing his newspaper cross word, my Mother sat in the passenger seat and navigated and I drove from our home in Doncaster down to London, along The Mall and through the main gates into the central courtyard of Buckingham Palace to receive my Gold Award from His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh.
Fourteen fellow pupils from our School, Wheatley Hills High School for Boys, were all due to meet for the ceremony and each was allowed one Guest. I was lucky, my Mother came as my Guest, my Father came as a Teacher and the Representative from our school.
It was my third meeting with The Duke, one DofE garden party at The Palace and a DofE demonstration camp in South Yorkshire. Our school had the reputation of producing more Gold Award Candidates than any other institution in the Country, The Duke knew our uniform by sight and was renowned for making the quip that we always took up more seating than anyone else in the main ballroom.
My lasting memory of the DofE System is that it taught me to love the mountains. I have since had a life-time of mountaineering in the UK, the Alps and Nepal that has given me the greatest pleasure.
A most wonderful man who will be very sorely missed but he leaves an amazing legacy in the form of the DofE Award System.
p.s. My Father was still doing his cross word when we arrived at The Palace and never uttered a word about my driving.
Fourteen fellow pupils from our School, Wheatley Hills High School for Boys, were all due to meet for the ceremony and each was allowed one Guest. I was lucky, my Mother came as my Guest, my Father came as a Teacher and the Representative from our school.
It was my third meeting with The Duke, one DofE garden party at The Palace and a DofE demonstration camp in South Yorkshire. Our school had the reputation of producing more Gold Award Candidates than any other institution in the Country, The Duke knew our uniform by sight and was renowned for making the quip that we always took up more seating than anyone else in the main ballroom.
My lasting memory of the DofE System is that it taught me to love the mountains. I have since had a life-time of mountaineering in the UK, the Alps and Nepal that has given me the greatest pleasure.
A most wonderful man who will be very sorely missed but he leaves an amazing legacy in the form of the DofE Award System.
p.s. My Father was still doing his cross word when we arrived at The Palace and never uttered a word about my driving.
