A Gedney Drove End resident has been presented with an OBE for Public Service by the Princess Royal.
Nicholas Leader was recognised in the King’s New Year’s Honours for his 40 years working in the prison service.
Last week he and wife Sue attended Windsor Castle to receive his medal from Princess Anne.
“I’m very fortunate,” Nicholas said. “It was a lovely day made better because I could attend with my wife and we both had a great day.
“I am proud to have my time in the prison service recognised and know this was, in the main part, only possible because of the great support prison staff and my family have given me in all the prisons I have worked at.”
After joining the prison service as an officer at HMP Birmingham in 1985, Nicholas moved to South Holland to work with HMP Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire in 1993, before retiring last September.
He has governed seven prisons and believes he was formally recognised for his work at HMP Berwyn, the UK’s largest public sector prison in Wales.
Nicholas said of the award: “It was a total surprise.
“I have loved the challenges and rewards of working in the prison service and will remember the thousands of great staff who have made the prison service so much better than the one I first joined –HMPPS is a career I would recommend to anyone as every day is different and you can really make a difference changing the lives of others.
