Church Elder Receives Royal Honour at Sunday Service

SUNDAY morning worship is usually a time for reflection and fellowship, but yesterday (Sunday) for a South Lanarkshire congregation it also meant the presentation of an honour from the Queen to a longstanding member.

Jimmy Anderson, 88, was awarded the British Empire Medal in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List earlier this year.

Such honours are normally presented at ceremonies in London or Edinburgh, but in an unusual move, Jimmy was presented with his by Vice Lord Lieutenant of Lanarkshire, John Brown, during the Sunday morning service at St Ninian’s Church, Stonehouse.

The award was made to Mr Anderson, a long-time elder in the Church, in recognition of a lifetime of service to the Boys’ Brigade and the local community.

Born and brought up in in the east of Glasgow, Jimmy moved to Stonehouse in 1954 and married local girl, May Thomson. He joined St Ninian’s Church and was ordained an Elder while still in his early twenties, something unusual for the time.

Shortly after becoming an officer in the newly formed 1^st Stonehouse Boys’ Brigade Company, he was catapulted into the challenging role of Company Captain, a position he was to hold for over 60 years. His long service was recognised when he was made an Honorary Vice President of the Hamilton Battalion of the Boys’ Brigade.

In his later years, he became involved in the Stonehouse Senior Citizens Group and was soon elected Chairperson. He held that position - being repeatedly voted on unanimously - for over 20 years and it was only recently that he retired from the role. The respect and admiration in which he is held, and in recognition of what he had achieved, led to him being elected Honorary President of the group and he continues to chair meetings when required.

In his fifties he decided that he would take up running and in the 25 years which followed, he participated in many half marathons and similar races where he raised funds for local and national charities. Among the many charities to benefit were the National Guide Dogs for the Blind, Stonehouse Hospital and Cancer Research. As the years progressed, age and arthritis took its toll but this did not stop Jimmy running and his well known figure would be seen running through the village and surrounding area.

In 1999 he was honoured by South Lanarkshire Council when he received an award for Outstanding Community Service.

Speaking of Jimmy during the presentation, Vice Lord Lieutenant John Brown said

“This is the first time that I have had the privilege of making a presentation in front of a church congregation. It is a very special venue and most apt considering Jimmy’s long and outstanding contribution to the life of the Church.”

Pictured with Mr Anderson (from left to right) are: the Rev Stewart Cutler, Jimmy and Vice Lord Lieutenant of Lanarkshire, John Brown.

Comments

Heather Hutchison - Tuesday, November 7th, 2017

“I want to say how proud I am of my dad. He had a lovely day at church on Sunday and a lot of people had a tear in their eye. Well done dad you deserve to have received this recognition. If there were medals for the best father you would win that too.
”

Campbell Thomson - Thursday, November 9th, 2017

“Was my BB captain over 50 years ago and had a great influence on my life. A very special- and genuinely humble- man who well deserves this award.”

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