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'I'm gobsmacked' says 91-year-old appointed MBE

Helen Chapman Barbara Boyd, who has grey hair, a stripy top and a red cardigan, sitting in a chair. Another woman, whose face is not in shot, is standing behind the chair and holding Barabra's hands.Helen Chapman
Barbara Boyd, 91, has been running the Hadleigh Thrift Shop in Suffolk for more than two decades

A 91-year-old who turned a struggling charity shop into one which has helped raise more than £2m for good causes has been named on The King's New Year Honours List.

Barbara Boyd, from Hadleigh, Suffolk, has been appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to charitable fundraising and the community.

"Nobody is more flabbergasted than me and the word I use for it is 'gobsmacked'," she said.

At the heart of her fundraising mission is the Hadleigh Thrift Shop, which she opened in 1999 after taking over and transforming the Hadleigh Lions Clubs' charity store.

Supplied Barbara Boyd, who has grey hair, a white and a blue cardigan, sitting in a chair.Supplied
Mrs Boyd said she was shocked when she found out she had been appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)

"I was just doing my job and I never would have expected this sort of thing to happen to me – I still cannot get over it and it really is a big deal for me.

"[I've always liked helping people] because I have just always been interested in being and talking with people, and I have the gift of the gab."

Over the last 25 years, Mrs Boyd and her team of volunteers have generated millions of pounds for more than 50 different causes in both the UK and Albania.

These include St Elizabeth Hospice, the Salvation Army, and the Riding For The Disabled Association. The money has been raised by selling donated items and holding events.

'It's kept me young'

As well as helping those in need, Mrs Boyd, who was born in Norwich, Norfolk, and spent time in South Africa, said the shop also keeps her young at heart.

"The shop is a broad church and I have lots of helpers who help me because I am now disabled and I can't walk unaided as I have a hip that needs doing," she said.

"But there are people worse off than me and having the shop has made me interact with people all the time."

Other people from Suffolk who have been named on The King's New Year Honours List include:

  • Geoffrey Barton, from Bury St Edmunds, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, appointed CBE for services to education
  • James Darkins, from Southwold, independent non-executive board member at The Crown Estate, appointed OBE for services to the public sector
  • Ronald Hynd, from Bury St Edmunds, dancer and international choreographer, appointed OBE for services to dance
  • William Ellard, 18, from Beccles, champion para-swimmer, appointed MBE for services to swimming
  • Daniel Schumann, 43, from Exning, founder of VIVA Theatre, appointed MBE for services to community theatre in Cambridgeshire
  • Christine Boatwright, Bures, founder and clinical director of the Kernos Centre, awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to mental health in Suffolk
  • Friends Muriel Bridges, 88, and June Winter, 85, both from Framlingham, awarded the BEM for services to the St Elizabeth Hospice, in Framlingham, after decades of fundraising
  • John Dunnett, from Woodbridge, awarded the BEM for services to the community in Grundisburgh
  • Kathleen Hamilton, 70, from Saxmundham, theatre manager and administrator, awarded the BEM for services to theatre
  • Ann Osborn, 71, from Diss, Norfolk, chief executive at the Rural Coffee Caravan Information Project, awarded the BEM for services to older people and combatting loneliness in the communities of Suffolk and Norfolk
  • Jill Terrell, 59, from Stowmarket, awarded the BEM for services to libraries

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