The British Citizen Award (BCA), in association with One-Stop, is now in its sixth year and recognises exceptional people who positively impact their communities. Barrie de Suys is honoured with a BCAv for Services to Volunteering & Charitable Giving. For only the second time in its history, Barrie and the remaining 26 medalists received their BCA medals by courier, together with video messages of congratulations together with an invitation to the House of Lords at a date yet to be determined, when it is safe to do so.
Barrie set himself a target of walking 1,000 miles for charity, around his local Victory Park in Addlestone – one 0.6-mile lap at a time. To compound matters, Barrie is an 86-year-old heart attack survivor, with a reconstructed hip, following a fracture in 2018. Yet he still wanted to give something back to society.
When lockdown closed the parks open air gym, Barrie instead walked the perimeter of the park, morning, noon and night, walking alone and raising not just funds, but spirits when people in the community saw his challenge. Walking tens of miles per day (averaging 20 miles daily,) he walked in all weathers and continued until 26th July 2020, finally completing 2,195 miles, raising over £9000 for the RNIB (Barrie continued to walk unmeasured distances daily at the park until the end of the year, whilst his fundraising page remained open).
The impact was felt throughout the community with such a positive news story, in challenging circumstances resulting in other local residents being inspired to visit the park and walk, exercise more and feel part of something inspirational during a very difficult time in the world. Barrie created a real community spirit as well as raising money for RNIB.
Barrie has lived in Addlestone all his life and a regular visitor to the park where he met Vicky Clifford who has played an important part of organising Barrie’s Farcebook page and successful fundraising.
Barrie’s comment on after receiving the award, ‘I’m very pleased to receive the award and nice to be recognised for what I did.’