Posthumous RNLI award for Sidmouth’s Kingsley Squire
(l-r) Ed Harrison, Monica Squire and Jogn Govier. - Credit: Archant
Branscombe-born journalist ‘would have been thrilled’ by the rare honour
Kingsley Squire during one of his visits to the Herald's office. Ref shs kingsley1 - Credit: Archant
The late Kingsley Squire has been recognised for his ‘outstanding’ support of the RNLI, over more than a quarter of a century, with a rare posthumous award.
Kingsley’s wife Monica was presented with a gold medal and certificate this week - and said he would have been ‘thrilled’.
Posthumous awards are not normally given to land-based volunteers, so the honour is thought to be unique.
Journalist Kingsley, 78, died in November last year following a brave battle with pancreatic cancer. He had served on the Sidmouth RNLI committee for some 27 years.
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“I think it’s wonderful they have given it to him,” said Monica. “He enjoyed being part of it very much. It’s a great honour and he would have been thrilled.”
She recalled how Branscombe-born Kingsley, who wrote for the Herald for 26 years, ‘loved the sea’ and was an ‘avid’ collector of funds for the RNLI.
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The award was presented to Monica by Sidmouth RNLI branch president John Govier and its chairman Ed Harrison.
John, a lifelong friend of Kingsley’s, said: “The posthumous gold award that the late Kingsley Squire has been given by the RNLI is indeed very rare.
“It has recognised his voluntary contribution to the work of the RNLI which has spanned over some 27 years. When he retired from Fleet Street and a job with the Daily Express, the Sidmouth RNLI committee benefited from his expertise as a press officer. We could have not had a better one. Born in Branscombe, his roots were by the sea and Kingsley understood as well as anyone the great work the RNLI does throughout the British Isles. He was a valued member of the Sidmouth RNLI committee.”
