His Majesty the King has been graciously pleased to award the Buchan Battalion Boys’ Brigade with the King’s Award for Voluntary Service.

The award, made on His Majesty’s 76th Birthday, recognises the value of the voluntary service given by all Officers, Helpers and Young Volunteers in the Buchan Battalion for the benefit of the Boys and Girls in the communities we serve.

The King’s Award for Voluntary Service (KAVS) is the equivalent to an MBE for an organisation and is a national honour conferred by His Majesty the King.

To achieve this award the Battalion was first nominated from the community and that nomination then assessed by the Aberdeenshire Lieutenancy through visits and interviews. It required the recommendation of the Lord-Lieutenant of Aberdeenshire before the nomination was further considered nationally and ultimately approved by His Majesty the King.

This is a significant achievement for our Battalion and the volunteers who work day-in, day-out for our young people. What is special about this award is that the voluntary service of our Senior Boys and Girls was included as part of the assessment, the sheer volume of voluntary hours given by all surprising even our assessors.

This award is not for one single person, but to the Buchan Battalion and all who give their time willingly to help deliver our important work. It is a testament to the teamwork of all which has made our Battalion a national example to be followed.

We had a wonderful evening of celebration at tonight’s Buchan Battalion Queen’s and President’s Badge evening at Rosehearty!

We were enjoying ourselves so much we forgot to get the big group photo of everyone at the end. But don’t worry; we have hundreds more photos to share over the coming days!

Thanks to all for attending tonight, including our Chief Guest Hon. Mrs Kate Nicolson DL who presented all the certificates. Thanks to the 1st Rosehearty for hosting the 2nd Annual Awards evening!