WORKING with vulnerable people both old and young earned a pensioner recognition in the

Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Shirley Galsworthy, 83, was awarded a British Empire Medal, for her services to elderly people and the community in the St Albans.

The awards were announced late on Friday but Mrs Galsworthy admitted she did not really believe it at first.

She said: “When I received the letter, I couldn’t believe it, and thought ‘Okay, maybe that will

happen’.

“But when I had the phone call, I was what they called gobsmacked.”

The volunteer started helping at a Thursday lunch-club for the elderly and took over after another person stepped down as they were getting too old.

Since then the group, the club has doubled its membership and has progressed to help members get out in the community; this is often the only social engagement that participants have on a weekly basis.

She said: “People come to us with their problems as well, as there are things they do not feel

comfortable telling their family.

“We are constantly trying to think of fundraising activities to keep it going as it is such an important thing for the members.”

Mrs Galsworthy not only devotes time to the elderly, but also volunteers to help younger adults with learning disabilities.

She accompanies them to music venues and other activities several times a week.

She added: “There is usually something to do on a daily basis, even Sundays.

“I start my day by getting woken up by my dog Zacharias, and by 10am I’m out doing something.

“I’ll come back in the afternoon for a cup of tea, but there will often be something going on in the evening as well.”

The great-grandmother moved to the area 17 years ago after working in Oxfordshire as part of a child protection team in social services.

She says that staying positive has helped her, both in her career and when volunteering.

She said: “I always think, as long as I have done my best, then I that is all I can do.

“If you have done everything you can, then you have to trust that you are handing it over to someone higher up.

“If I am frustrated then I take Zacharias, my long-haired

dachsund, out for a walk and he helps me.”