West Midlands Lieutenancy

We wish everyone a very Happy Christmas and a Peaceful New Year. It is a privilege to work with the people and communities of the West Midlands and we look forward to seeing you all in 2024.

Deputy Lieutenant Anita Bhalla OBE was pleased to attend the Birth Anniversary of Qaid-e-Azam and Christmas Celebration hosted by the Consul General of Pakistan. Also in attendance were the Lord Mayor of Birmingham Cllr Chaman Lal and Ms Sara Wajid, Co-CEO of Birmingham Museums Trust

University Hospitals Birmingham Celebration of Hannukah was attended by Deputy Lieutenant Sarah Rennie. The event was hosted by Fr Roger Haven, Lead Chaplain of UHB and Rabbi Jacobs, Honorary Jewish Chaplain & Chief Minister of the Birmingham Hebrew Congregation. Also in attendance was the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Cllr Chaman Lal

Deputy Lieutenant John Wood joined Cape Community Care Centre at a party to celebrate them winning a Kings Award for Voluntary Service. It was a lively event enjoyed by all who attended.

Deputy Lieutenant Dawn Ward and Cllr David Stanley a former Mayor of Dudley pictured after enjoying the West Midlands Fire Service Carol Concert at St Martin's in the Bullring

Last night the Lord-Lieutenant hosted a carol service at Holy Trinity Church in Smethwick. Thank you to everyone who came and made it such a special evening.

We are ready for our Carol Service. Now we wait.

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! We are looking forward to our Carol service tomorrow evening.

On behalf of the Lord-Lieutenant Sir Christopher Ham officially opened The Heights Academy in Solihull. A brand new school for children with autism part of the Forward Education Trust family.

Deputy Lieutenant Amrick Singh Ubhi joined the celebration of Bosnia and Herzegovina Statehood Day at their new Bosnia House premises, where they were treated to a short tour and a show of traditional dancing. The event was also attended by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Cllr Chaman Lal. Zaim Pasic, Chair of Bosnia & Herzegovina UK Network, H E Osman Topcagic, Ambassador of Bosnia & Herzegovina to the UK and Dr Waqar Azmi OBE, Chair and funder of Remembering Srebrenica.

Dame Christine Braddock DBE DL was pleased to attend the service to mark World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims 2023 at St Martin's in the Bull Ring, organised by RoadPeace. The service was conducted by Revd Jeremy Allcock and also in attendance where the Lord Mayor of Birmingham Cllr Chaman Lal and Andy Street, Mayor of the WMCA. Dame Christine is pictured also with Steph Arrowsmith and Julian Smith.

Deputy Lieutenant Elizabeth Foster laid a wreath and took the salute at the RBL Remembrance Day Parade at Mary Stevens Park, Stourbridge. despite the inclement weather there was a large crowd there to pay their respects to the fallen. She then attended Norton Social Club to chat to veterans over refreshments.

Martin Levermore MBE DL was pleased to lay a wreath at the Methodist Church Memorial Hall for the Gornal Royal British Legion Remembrance Day Parade, which was then followed by refreshments at the RBL Club in Dudley.

Deputy Lieutenant Anita Bhalla OBE attended an Act of Remembrance hosted by Cockshut Hill School, where the school remembered those lost in conflict. She was honoured to meet veterans at this event

Deputy Lieutenant John Wood visited St Alban's Community Association for their Remembrance Day event, which started with a light breakfast and songs. A minutes silence was held at 11am followed by a poem read out by a veteran. Then it was on to a singer who entertained the clients, volunteers and staff with some old-time songs. Everyone took a great interest in the Deputy Lieutenant's sword.

The Provincial Grand Lodge of Warwickshire Remembrance Service was held at Yenton Masonic Centre which was attended by Deputy Lieutenant Martin Levermore MBE, who laid a wreath on behalf of the Lord-Lieutenant.

Deputy Lieutenant Dr Nasir Awan MBE was honoured to lay a wreath on behalf of the Lord-Lieutenant at the Sutton Coldfield Remembrance day parade, where he was joined by Town Mayor, Cllr Tony Briggs, Town Council Leader Cllr Simon Ward and Andrew Mitchell MP

Deputy Lieutenant Dr Mohammed Sakhawat Hussain laid a wreath on behalf of the West Midlands Lord-Lieutenant at the Remembrance Day Parade held at Victoria Park in Tipton.

Huge congratulations to all of the West Midlands region winners of the 2023 King's Award for Voluntary Service. We have a total of 18 winners: Believe IN Me CIC (Birmingham), BOPA -British Organisation for People of Asian origin- (Coventry), Cape Community Care Day Centre (Smethwick), Champions Community Trust (Brierley Hill), Citizen's Panel (Birmingham), Cresswell Wanderers FC (Bloxwich), Highlife Centre (Coventry), legacy West Midlands (Birmingham), LouDeemY Productions (Birmingham), Midland Freewheelers ERVS-Blood Bikes (Willenhall), New Beginnings Community (Smethwick), Parent & Carer Support Group (Sandwell), RoadPeace - West Midlands (Birmingham), Student Voice (Rowley Regis), Wolverhampton Alz Café (Wolverhampton), Wolverhampton Wrestling Club (Wolverhampton), You're Cherished (Sutton Coldfield).

Well done to all of the organisations and the volunteers who give their time to these worthwhile causes.

Deputy Lieutenant Dame Christine Braddock DBE attended and laid a wreath at the Remembrance Day Service held at All Saints Church Shard End along with Liam Byrne MP and Cllr Ian Ward and cadets from HMS Stirling Sea Cadets

Deputy Lieutenant Les Ratcliffe MBE with Lord-Lieutenant's Cadet - Cadet Sergeant Louie Burn ready to attend the Coventry Remembrance Day Service at the War Memorial Park.

Deputy Lieutenant Professor Helen Higson OBE was pleased to attend a very damp but well attended Remembrance Day parade and service at Powke Lane Cemetery in Rowley Regis.

Oakham Primary School held a special Remembrance Service which was attended by Roger Roberts one of the last two survivors of the tragic sinking of HMS Charybdis & HMS Limbourne on 23rd October 1943. Deputy Lieutenant Stewart Towe was delighted to be in attendance at this event, where Roger answered questions from the children about the events of that day.

You can make a nomination for the Young Active Citizen Award via our website https://wmlieutenancy.org/what-is-the-young-active-citizen-award/. We are so proud of the young people of the West Midlands who make a difference every day.

Bernie Flatley of the The Roma Project welcomed the Romanian Ambassador, Mrs Laura Popescu, Les Ratcliffe MBE DL, Jaswant Singh Birdi, Lord Mayor and the Lady Mayoress to Broad Street Meeting Hall to learn about the services and support offered by the project to the local Romanian community.

Warwickshire & West Midlands (South) Sector Army Cadet Force held a presentation morning, which included a music display , stands showing some of the activities undertaken by the cadets and presentations by the Commandant. Les Ratcliffe MBE DL joined them for this enjoyable and informative day.

Colonel (Dr) Heidi Doughty OBE OStJ TD DL was joined the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Cllr Chaman Lal, David Domoney, Thrive Ambassador, Rowena Pollack – Thrive Birmingham Client Gardener, Kathryn Rossiter, Thrive CEO and Shan Akhtar – Thrive Trustee at the launch event celebrating the award of National Lottery Heritage Funding to Thrive. It was a very enjoyable event despite the inclement weather.

Major General Tim Hodgetts CB CBE KHS OStJ DL, pictured with (left to right)Air Chief Marshall Sir Richard Knighton, Chief of the Air Staff and Air Marshall Sir Baz North, President RAFA, Mr Nick Bunting Secretary General RAFA and The Venerable Doctor Giles Legood, Chaplain-in-Chief RAF attended the Royal Air Forces Annual Conference on 14th October, where awards were made to those who have made a significant contribution to the Royal Air Forces Association.

We are excited to announce the launch of our search for the Young Active Citizens of 2023. All the details are on our website https://wmlieutenancy.org/what-is-the-young-active-citizen-award/.

We look forward to receiving lots of nominations about the fantastic young people across our region who do such wonderful things

Really good to be at the YOUWM leadership day, attended by lots of young people from across the West Midlands.

Clive Stone DL and Cllr Diana Holl-Allen MBE, Mayor of Solihull, we very pleased to welcome new citizens at the Solihull Citizenship Ceremony on 13th September.

Clive Stone DL recently attended the official opening of the Shirley Sea Cadets building extension. He was accompanied by Carmen Watson DL and Lord-Lieutenant's Cadet Matthew Mohan. Cpt Neil Downing RN cut the ribbon and the Mayor of Solihull Cllr Diana Holl-Allen MBE also attended.

🚨 The nomination window for the King's Award for Volunteering is officially CLOSED! 🚨

We would like to thank everyone who took the time to recognise the outstanding volunteers in their communities.

We look forward to awarding the winners at our ceremony.

📅 Today is the day, and time is running out! ⏰

It's the FINAL day to submit your nominations for the King's Award for Volunteering.
Let's come together and celebrate the unsung heroes who've selflessly uplifted their local community.

🏆 To submit a nomination, head over to our website.