AN ANDOVER man is to be recognised at the Palace of Westminster with a British Citizen Award in recognition of his extraordinary endeavours.

The British Citizen Award is now in its fifth year and recognises exceptional individuals who positively impact their communities throughout the country.

David Facey will be honoured for his services to volunteering and charitable giving with a BCA, at an official medal presentation being held on January 23.

At the age of eight, David joined the 2nd Andover Sea Scouts in 1952, which formed in 1943. In 1962 he became an assistant Scout Leader and Group Scout Leader in 1993 and, after 57 years of service and devotion, he plans to retire.

During his years of service, he has been the driving force behind raising around £150,000 in grants from the local council, local businesses and the National Lottery.

For many years the Sea Scouts meeting hut was very run down and not fit for purpose. David had a vision which he shared with others to build a new Scouting hall that would take the troop forward. He worked hard giving up his free time to raise thousands of pounds through BBQs, quiz nights, firework parties and many more events, more often than not single-handedly.

Today, the building is an amazing space which the Beavers, Cubs and Scouts make full use of. Having achieved that, David raised further funds to purchase new sailing dinghies, good camping equipment and a climbing wall.

His enthusiasm, guidance and passion has helped to inspire these young people to achieve and grow in confidence. His legacy will be the modern facilities that he has helped fund and build.

The Medal presentation will be hosted at the House of Lords by TV’s Michael Underwood who, together with Dame Mary Perkins, co-founder of Specsavers, is a patron of the British Citizen Award, which was established in 2015 to recognise exceptional individuals who work tirelessly and selflessly to make a positive impact on society. The BCA recognises true community heroes who would otherwise likely be overlooked. Dubbed the People’s Honours, many recipients have subsequently been selected to receive a Queen’s Honour after their endeavours have been recognised with a BCA.

Each medalist has a day to remember befitting their achievements. At the Palace of Westminster each will receive a Medal of Honour, inscribed with the words ‘For the Good of the Country’. Medals will be presented by Senior Representatives from official partner One Stop, Places for People, Specsavers, Experian and Objective HR who all support these awards. Following this, medalists are treated to an Open Top Lap of Honour tour before attending a Certificate presentation at the prestigious Church House.

The British Citizen Award is widely viewed as the nation’s way of recognising extraordinary, everyday people for exceptional endeavor and are truly representative of today’s multicultural Britain.