Wiltshire recognised in Queen's Honours

12 June 2010, 06:00 | Updated: 13 September 2017, 18:32

Frances Lewis from Bradford-on-Avon is getting an MBE for setting up SPLITZ -  For services to Single Parents and to Victims of Domestic Abuse

"She established Splitz in 1989.  It provides support services for single parents and victims of domestic abuse. The charity also provides specialist counselling for children and young people affected by domestic abuse within their households. It has funded children’s workers as well as setting up men’s groups to change abusive behaviour. Demand for the men’s group has expanded beyond Wiltshire to surrounding areas including Bristol, Dorset and South Wales.

"Fund-raising is a challenge for any small charity, but she has raised over £3m, enabling the Trust to introduce new services and give added value to core delivery. At the same time she has been able to keep the organisation at the forefront of good practice; winning accreditation for services such as Investors in People and Investors in Volunteers. Through her drive and determined approach, Splitz now has 13 trustees, 23 staff and 10 volunteers. She has been persistent and innovative in creating new forms of service as perceived needs have changed. She has built a stable and expert organisation and has been the driving force and inspiration behind it all."

The founders of Help for Heroes Bryn and Emma Parry from Salisbury will be getting OBEs for voluntary service to the Armed Forces

"Help for Heroes, (H4H) has become much more than a charity; it is now quite simply a national phenomenon. It was conceived jointly in 2007 by them out of their desire to do something to help injured Service personnel, its original aims were modest; to raise the money for a swimming pool at the Defence Rehabilitation Centre at Headley Court, Surrey. It immediately caught the mood of the nation and its people who, while not necessarily sympathetic with the interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan, wanted to support the services.  Through events and donations large and small, funds have poured in; the total in January 2010, just over two years after its original inception, is around £35m and continues to rise daily. The original target has been met. Support has been provided to Combat Stress and to the development of an Army Convalescent Capability. For 2010, the charity’s theme is to continue to provide a Launch Pad for Life, ensuring wounded Service personnel have the opportunities to regain their self esteem and the chance to contribute for the rest of their lives commensurate with their abilities. It has reconnected the Armed Forces with the public which has had an enormously positive effect on the morale and sense of being valued by all personnel in the Armed Forces."