A GYMNASTICS coach, a community music organiser and a Holocaust survivor are among those from the area recognised in the New Year’s Honours list.
The MBE is the second major award this year for Forest of Dean Gymnastics Club founder Lynn Hammersley, who was honoured for services to the sport, fitness and the community.
The British Empire Me-dal (BEM) was awarded to Nick Cann of Chepstow, Renate Collins of Caldicot, Christopher Day of Westbury, Brian Ellam of Tintern and Donald Norris of Tutshill.
They were honoured for services to stroke survivors, Holocaust education, adaptive skiing, music and Scouting respectively.
Mrs Collins, who is aged 82, was on the last of the Kindertransporten which took Jewish children to safety from Nazi-occupied Europe.
She was just five years old when she was put aboard a train in the Czech capital Prague in 1939 and brought to Britain.
Mrs Collins later found out that some 64 members of her family had been murdered in the Holocaust.
She has spoken at many national Holocaust memorial events, including at Wembley Stadium, and launched a national Holocaust exhibition at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
Mrs Collins has also spoken at schools, universities and to community groups, and her story has been archived at the Weiner Holocaust Library at the University of London.
Nick Cann has dedicated his life to raising money for, and awareness of, stroke charities and services since he suffered a major stroke in 2013.
Nick helped set up the Stroke Association’s Phoenix Project in Monmouthshire which provides longer-term support for stroke survivors, and in 2016 he was named the charity’s fund-raiser of the year.
He has raised tens of thousands of pounds, including undertaking a cycle ride from Cardiff to Tenby, and 10-kilometre runs.
He is also a member of the Strike a Chord Choir which is made up of stroke survivors.
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Christopher Day
TWELVE adaptive skiers take part in a trip to Austria with the Metropolitan Police Peel Ski Club every two years, and Christopher Day of Westbury is central to the success.
He covers all areas of ski leadership ranging from hands-on practical issues to health and safety paperwork.
The adaptive skiers take part with a support team of 40 able-bodied volunteers on the trips, which take place every two years.
He also does an incredible amount of work with the Gloucester Ski Club and with individual skiers around the country to enhance their skills and enjoyment of the sport.
Mr Day raised £5,000 for a new sit ski, which is vital for skiers who have extremely limited body movement, by cycling across Vietnam.
He then drove to the French Alps to collect the kit and spent time being instructed on its use, all of which was at his own expense.
Colleagues say his approach is always to ensure that skiers make the most progress possible in developing their skiing abilities.
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Lynn Hammersley
Lynn Hammersley set up the Forest of Dean Gymnastics Club at Five Acres in 1976 at a time when there were few sporting clubs providing structured physical challenges, particularly for girls and young women.
As a qualified PE teacher, she brought her experience to the task, and for the first six years she worked unpaid while upgrading her coaching qualifications.
In its 20th anniversary year, she secured funding to build a high performance centre of excellence, and now aged 71, she continues to coach and manage the club which served as a training centre for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
In the summer, she received the prestigious Nik Stuart Foundation award for her contribution to the sport.
She said of the New Year award: “It’s so humbling and such a great honour, I never expected anything like this especially after the award I received earlier in the year.
“When I first received the letter from the Cabinet Office, I didn’t open it.
“I thought it was just election marketing from the Conservative Party. Then when my husband opened the letter and told me what it said, I just stood there absolutely gobsmacked.
“It’s great publicity for the gymnastics club, there will be a real buzz surrounding the place because of this.”
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Don Norris
Mr Norris has been involved with Scouting since 1967 and currently has five roles in Monmouthshire and Gwent including County Executive member.
In March, he was presented with a lifetime achievement award from Scouts Cymru for his contribution to the movement.
The 82-year-old’s duties include weekly maintenance of the Gwent Area campsite at Botany Bay near Tintern and training – he has been training advisor since 1999.
He has been secretary for the Monmouthshire district since 2002, district communications co-ordinator between 2002 and 2019 and campsite liaison officer since 1998, as well being a trustee.
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Brian Ellam
Brian Ellam, a former music teacher at Wyedean School in Sedbury, is honoured for his work in creating opportunities for people to take part in music.
He formed the Chepstow Community Music Centre in 2015 to give anyone who wants to get involved in music the opportunity with a range of groups and access to instruments.
Among the groups based at the music centre are the Chepstow Community Big Band, Chepstow Musical Show Choir, Chepstow Community Microjazz Band and the Chepstow Community Concert Orchestra, which cater for musicians of different abilities.
He has also set up a number of performance opportunities for musicians in local venues, is involved with Chepstow Town Band and plays the organ and organises musicians for St Mary’s Church in Chepstow.
Those who nominated Mr Ellam were Pat Allard, a former colleague in the music department at Wyedean, Alan Jones, the chairman of Chepstow Town Band, Vicar of Chepstow Rev Phillip Averay, and Colin Evans, who plays saxophone with the Microjazz Band.
Mr Ellam, who lives in Tintern, said: “I can think of better and more inspiring music teachers, but what I’ve done is make the link with the community, making opportunities for adults and youngsters by setting these things up where they can play together.
“Reading the citations is very moving.”