Thank you King Charles for our prestigious award……
HUGE congratulations to all the volunteers of the Friends of Farsley Rehoboth
The Friends of Farsley Rehoboth Burial Ground have been awarded The King’s Award for Voluntary Service for 2024. This is the highest award a local voluntary group can receive in the UK and is equivalent to an MBE.
Our volunteers have invested over 35,000 hours in the reclamation of our 250 year old historic site and ecological wonderland from decades of neglect. Our work commenced with the purchase (by our charity) of this Official Commonwealth War Graves cemetery in 2019 and its subsequent transformation into a community asset.
The Friends of Farsley Rehoboth Burial Ground is one of 281 UK local charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups to receive the prestigious award this year. Their work, along with others from across the UK, reminds us of all the ways fantastic volunteers are contributing to their local communities and working to make life better for those around them.
The King’s Award for Voluntary Service aims to recognise outstanding work by local volunteer groups to support their communities. It was created in 2002 to celebrate Her Majesty The late Queen’s Golden Jubilee and, was continued following the accession of His Majesty The King. 2024 marks the second year of The King’s Award for Voluntary Service.
Recipients are announced annually on 14th November, The King’s Birthday.
Representatives of The Friends of Farsley Rehoboth Burial Ground will receive the award crystal and certificate from Ed Anderson CBE Lord-Lieutenant of West Yorkshire. In addition, two volunteers from The Friends of Farsley Rehoboth Burial Ground will attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace in May and June 2025, along with other recipients of this year’s Award.
Frances Barker, Trustee and Communications Officer said: “We are absolutely delighted to received this prestigious award. Our dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers have totally transformed this place of neglect into an ecological wonderland, giving access to this incredible heritage site to families and visitors from all over the world".
