Community champion Gillian Hagen says she could not believe it when she was awarded a British Empire Medal in the King’s Birthday Honours.

Gillian, 73, known as Gilly, has been honoured for making a difference to the lives of Blidworth people and many others since 1995  including during the covid pandemic.

“I could not believe it when I received the letter,” she said. “Not being able to tell anyone about the award until the King’s Birthday Honours list was published was difficult. I tried to put it out of my mind most of the time.

“My family are so pleased to see that my many years of work for the benefit of people in Nottinghamshire has been recognised.

“I don’t do my charity work for awards. I just want to help people where I can — plus it gives me a reason to get up these days, now I am retired.”

Currently best known for her work with Blidworth On The Move Support Network, which was set-up during the pandemic, Gilly added: “It would never have happened without all the volunteers who did the all the active work.

“I was the person who did all the speaking and the organising, but there’s a team of volunteers that back all this work up, so this is for them too.”

Gilly first started her community work in 1996, setting up a support group for mothers who were struggling with their young people’s addictions.

Her dedication and grant funding application skills helped the service expand to today’s Mansfield-based Hetty’s charity, which has a crisis support line and paid staff supporting more than 200 families every month.

She then began supporting the health service, becoming chairman of Abbey Medical Group’s patient participation group in 2008.

Gilly was also a key volunteer member in the redesign of cancer pathway services. continuing with her role despite the death of her husband from the disease.

She now runs support groups for people with long-term conditions, is the patient representative at the Newark and Sherwood District Council health and wellbeing forum, and is the NHS patient leader for Mid-Notts Clinical Commissioning Group.

Blidworth – On The Move is a specialised transport service, set up when the pandemic first hit. Using volunteer drivers, it aimed to ensure vulnerable residents, including in Rainworth and Ravenshead, could get to vital medical appointments when unable to access public transport — and has now completed more than 1,100 trips.

It has since expanded to offer food aid and meals, as well as digital support and Christmas parcels, and become Blidworth On The Move Support Network, based at the village’s Sherwood Forest Community Church.