Local heroes to be honoured through a new Civic Honours scheme.

The borough is not short of local heroes. Ealing’s people – our diverse communities, our businesses and entrepreneurs, our volunteers, our sportspeople and our artists make this a fabulous place to live.

So, Ealing Council is changing the way that it honours people in the borough and is calling on all residents to nominate people who have made a difference to others through their work, achievements or volunteering.

That could be an athlete, sportsperson, or musician who’s from the borough and who’s been very successful, or an everyday hero who works to support their community and make Ealing a great place to live.

Civic Honours

The existing Freedom of the Borough Committee has become the Civic Honours Committee and will review submissions and recommend honours. The Representative Deputy Lieutenant in the borough has agreed to play a role in this process to broaden its scope by bringing in the expertise and local knowledge of the King’s representative in the borough.

“It is especially timely to introduce this new scheme during Black History Month,” said Councillor Peter Mason, the leader of Ealing Council. “A month in which we recognise and celebrate those whose voices are often ignored, marginalised or unheard.  Changing the way we do Civic Honours ensures that we hear those local voices loud and clear, celebrate them, their achievements and the way they represent us.”

To ensure that a wide range of potential nominees are proposed from across the community, residents are being asked to nominate those they feel have made a significant contribution. The committee will consider all nominations and provide a shortlist with recommendations for the award to be considered. That might be for Freedom of the Borough, which the council awarded in 2022 to England footballer Bukayo Saka, the naming of a road or building after someone, or making them an Alder of the borough.

For nominations that identify someone whose impact has gone beyond the borough, the committee will consider applying for a national honour (like a CBE or OBE) through the national honours process.

Not something that sits on the mantlepiece

But nominees don’t have to have made grand contributions, they could also simply have worked hard locally to make a positive difference to the lives of their community. Nominees can be alive, or those who have passed away.

Councillor Mason continued: “We don’t want these awards to be something that sits on the mantlepiece, we want some of them to be out there in the world. With that in mind, we have decided to name 2 of the new buildings being built as part of our council homebuilding programme after Edna Wilkie and Magdalen Carter.

“Both Edna and Magdalen committed their lives to their local communities, and both independently set up supplementary school classes for children, in particular of Caribbean heritage, supporting hundreds of young people in the borough.

“They were remarkable women, and we are proud to be able to acknowledge and remember them in this way.”

Nominate

The committee will also identify recipients of the Mayor’s Award. Recipients of this award will receive a certificate which will be presented to them by the Mayor of Ealing. These may be identified from the list of potential nominees for Freedom of the Borough status or nominated directly by the mayor’s office for services to the borough.

To nominate someone please fill in the form available on the council’s website.