Val Bott and Kathleen Healy in Queen's Birthday Honours List

Recognised for work with Hogarth's House and Dukes Meadows

Two women who have made a massive contribution to the Chiswick area have been recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.

Museum consultant and local historian Val Bott has been given an MBE along with Kathleen Healy of the Dukes Meadows Trust.

The award to Val was given for services to heritage and conservation particularly her work with Hogarth's House in Chiswick.

Val told ChiswickW4.com, "I have greatly enjoyed helping to introduce William Hogarth to a wider audience and it is wonderful to be honoured this year, the 250th anniversary of his death. Being allowed to manage the refurbishment of Hogarth's House, supported by my great colleagues in the William Hogarth Trust, was a real pleasure - and the hugely increased numbers of visitors, particularly from the local area, suggests we got it right!"

Val chairs the William Hogarth Trust, is Honorary Secretary to the Thames Explorer Trust and became a member of the board of the Cartoon Museum in 2014. She also edits the Newsletter of the Friends of Gunnersbury Park & Museum and co-ordinates a committee of 9 local and family history societies which puts on the annual West London Local History Conference.

Kathleen Healy, the driving force behind Dukes Meadows Trust for over 10 years, has raised over £1 million to build new play facilities and plant orchards and wildflower meadows on the previously derelict park. By involving local people, particularly the young, for whom she set up a youth club, Kathleen ensured that the improvements were what people wanted so that they are respected and valued. To make the improvements sustainable Kathleen established social enterprises including the weekly food market as well as raising funds to renovate a derelict Pavilion building that now provides space for 18 artists to work and provide an income to sustain the improvements made to the park. The project was hailed as a model of sustainability by local government magazine in 2013. The Trustees and members are delighted that Kathleen’s work over many years has been recognised. Kathleen a qualified banker by profession is also Director of Hillingdon Community Trust, a grant-making organisation, and was a founder member of the Chiswick High Road action group.

She said, "I am delighted and very honoured. I've met and worked with so many lovely people, it has been wonderful and a great pleasure being involved with the restoration of the meadows."

Other awards with a Chiswick connection were the grant of an MBE to Ian Hunter, Chairman of the Civil Service Football Club for services to football. Last year the club helped mark the 150th anniversary of the FA by playing against another Chiswick based side, Polytechnic FC at Buckingham Palace. There was also a knighthood for Chiswick resident Derek Myers for services to local Government who until recently had been Chief Executive, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.

June 15, 2014