Right royal honour for PE man
A Port Elizabeth lifesaver’s second time at Buckingham Palace saw him finally meeting Queen Elizabeth at her London residence.
Bluewater Bay Surf Lifesaving Club chairman Dave Bamber, 67, who has been actively involved at the club for the past 16 years, received the Prince Michael of Kent 125th anniversary certificate of merit from Britain’s Royal Life Saving Society last month.
“Receiving this award was a big honour both personally and for all at the club as we have been running our drowning prevention programme for the past five years,” Bamber said.
“We knew there would be a reception but we had no idea that we would actually get to meet the queen, which came as a bit of a surprise.
“I had previously attended a garden party about 20 years ago but there were loads of people around and I did not get to meet her then.”
An initiative to promote drowning awareness and prevention which is largely aimed at children in disadvantaged communities saw Bamber getting an invitation to Buckingham Palace.
The awareness initiative followed the mass drowning of six Motherwell rugby players four years ago.
This motivated the club to strengthen their drowning awareness campaign around the Swartkops River and Bluewater Bay beaches.
It aims to reduce the potential for drowning through extended patrols, proper warning signage and water safety education – which has also been taken to children in poorer communities.
“Without the outstanding work everyone has put into the club we would not have been able to achieve something like this,” Bamber said.
“This sort of achievement certainly helps the profile of the club as well as to spread awareness of exactly how much work gets put in by the lifeguards, especially since we are a voluntary organisation.”
He said although the club had received various awards and trophies, the latest was the highest level of recognition.
The ceremony was held in a reception hall at Buckingham Palace and saw 125 people and their partners from across the Commonwealth in attendance.
Each guest was given an opportunity to shake hands with the queen and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
“When the door to the other room opened each person was announced by name to the royal pair and everyone got to shake their hands,” Bamber said.
“You could tell that the queen was genuinely delighted that so many people from the Commonwealth countries were there.
“It was a very proud moment for my wife, Jane, and me.
“It was amazing to see the queen, who is over 90, stand there with a big smile on her face, shaking more than 200 people’s hands and greeting every one.”
Bamber returned to Port Elizabeth on December 6.
