Category: Member Communications

Robert Cheesman receives the British Empire Medal

We are pleased to share the news that in the recent Queen’s Birthday Honours List, Robert, who retired as Chairman of Friends of Lewes earlier this year, has been awarded the British Empire Medal for voluntary service to the community in East Sussex.

Robert CheesmanMany will be familiar with Robert’s 55-year membership of FoL, with 26 of those as Chairman; not all may know that he also had five decades of active involvement and leadership in Scouting in the County and a similar period in the Lewes Footpaths Group.

For over 25 years he has been a member of the South Downs Society, with his 7 years as Chairman encompassing the creation of the South Downs National Park.

It is a well-deserved recognition, for it is truly remarkable to find such sustained and influential periods of voluntary service in so many contexts.

Read Robert’s story in ‘South Downs Generations’

 

 

 

New Chair for Friends of Lewes

Friends of Lewes, the Town’s Civic Society, founded in 1952 and with over 400 members, has a new Chair. Michael Chartier was elected at last month’s AGM (held online) to replace Robert Cheesman, who had held the post for a remarkable 26 years, as well as standing in for other officers on occasion. The Society and indeed the town are indebted to him for his constancy, industry and direction and wish him well in his new endeavours.

Michael has a very wide experience of the town, having been both a Town and District Councillor for decades, with terms as Mayor and Chair, before retiring from local politics in 2019. He also has had long-term involvement with other voluntary groups in the town, at various times chairing several, including the Sussex Archaeological Society and the Governors at the Old Grammar School.

Current restrictions on face-to-face meetings, arising from the Coronavirus pandemic, mean that one of his first tasks will be to create new ways of furthering the Society’s goals and projects.

Marcus Taylor also retired after 9 years as Honorary Secretary at the AGM in March and has been replaced by Diana Freestone. He had not only undertaken the conventional secretarial duties most efficiently but also taken a leading part in progressing a number of Society projects such as the historic plaques around the town. He also chaired the sub-committee that arranges member events and intends to continue to do this for the foreseeable future.

Michael Chartier
Michael Chartier