TWO Worcestershire women have been awarded British Empire Medals for their combined service of more than 70 years to help their communities.

Jennifer Jester and Muriel Lanman were presented with the honours by the Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire at a special ceremony held at the Guildhall, Worcester.

Ms Jester, of Kidderminster, earned her recognition for single-handedly building up the Wyre Forest Citizens Advice Bureau from a struggling organisation in a single room to the thriving service it is now, 26 years later.

Lt Col Patrick Holcroft, Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire, said her knowledge, advice and calm, reassuring demeanour had earned her great respect from both professionals and clients, often called upon to give advice to defendants on benefits at magistrates court.

He said: “Jennifer has done something very special by going above and beyond for her community for many years. The decision to award a British Empire Medal is not a decision taken lightly, it goes through a series of committees which rigorously assess hundreds of applications for such an honour.”

Ms Lanman, of Tenbury Wells, earned her award by starting charity work in her teens selling poppies for the Royal British Legion. She has now committed 50 years of service to the benefit of others and charitable causes, including continued annual support for the Legion, and has already received numerous merits recognising the funds she has raised. She is also on the Tenbury Community Hospital League of Friends and has been at the forefront of fund-raising operations while on the League, and regularly tries to bring her community closer by selling tickets for charitable concerts and events. She holds coffee mornings for her local church and cancer and air ambulance charities.

Lt Col Holcroft said her involvement in fund-raising was so distinguished within the local community she had become known as ‘Mrs Raffle’ by local people. He said: “Muriel has done something very special by going above and beyond for her community for many years. “To receive a British Empire Medal is an incredible achievement and I’d like to thank Jennifer for her dedicated work and commitment to Wyre Forest Citizens Advice Bureau and Muriel for her dedicated charity work and commitment to her community in Tenbury Wells,” he said.

The British Empire Medal was revived in 2012 for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Year after it was discontinued in 1993.

For more information about the Lord Lieutenant, visit worcestershire.gov. uk/lord-lieutenant.