A Chesterfield volunteer who lives in the centre of England a long way from the sea, has dedicated his spare time to all things nautical and has been honoured in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List.
The Maritime Volunteer Service (MVS) is delighted that the dedication and selfless passion of Richard Dale, has been recognised at the highest level with the award of an MBE. The MVS is a nautical charity and Richard served as Company and National Secretary for a period 6 years until the end of 2014. He also served as a trustee of the charity from 2005 – 2014 and is currently the charity’s Honorary President.
Following a long and very wide ranging career in the Civil Service, Richard dedicated his spare time to his love of the sea and nautical matters by working his way through such posts as Head of Unit, Regional Volunteer Officer, and becoming Secretary of the Charity. Richard joined the MVS in 1994 at its foundation after a period of 13 years in the Royal Naval Auxiliary Service (RNXS). He became Secretary of the MVS in 2008 and was able to make good use of his administration skills to run the national HQ office on a voluntary unpaid basis. The charity has more than 30 units in England Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland and approximately 400 members. Richard is also a member and unit treasurer of the Humber Unit based at Scunthorpe in North Lincolnshire.
His interest and enthusiasm was put to good effect in his work for the Charity during his time in office both on its Committee of Management and on its Governing Council.
“I’m honoured to have been nominated for this award and am delighted to accept it. I regard this award as a tribute to and recognition of all the hard work put in by my colleagues in the MVS for the benefit of their local communities. The MVS is a splendid organisation that helps to train people to sail, repair and navigate boats at the same time as keeping the UK’s maritime tradition alive. I shall cherish this award and wear it with pride.”
Richard’s work within the MVS has not been all plain sailing. He has had to deal with many issues, some of a very delicate and confidential nature that have required tact, diplomacy and a lot of energy even during a period of ill health.
During his time as Secretary, the Charity was awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. This was for the valuable work done by the Charity since its foundation in 1994, including the service given for the 2012 Olympics at Weymouth Bay and at Eton Dorney Lake and for the service given for the 2012 Queen’s Diamond Jubilee River Pageant.
Chris Todd, Vice Chair of the MVS National Council said,
“The charity’s mission statement that ‘We change lives by training in maritime skills.” reflects I believe that through his work as Secretary and as a trustee on Council, Richard Dale has helped the Charity to change the lives of MVS members and the general public through his dedication, knowledge and commitment to ensuring the continuity of the work of this nautical charity. It’s very well deserved.”