Three Sutherland residents named in King’s New Year Honours list
Three inspirational Sutherland residents have been named in the New Year’s Honours List - the highest number of local people to feature in the list for years.
Jonathan Brett Young, West Shinness, and Hayley Bangs, Ardgay, have been made Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), and David (Dave) Goulder, Rosehall, has been awarded the British Empire Medal.
All three Sutherland awards recipients have made a significant contribution to their communities and the wider area, with Mr Brett Young being honoured for his services to veterans and vulnerable people in Sutherland.
Ms Bangs received the award for services to the community in the Kyle of Sutherland, Ross-Shire and Caithness. And Mr Goulder receives his honour for services to dry stone walling and to his community.
Sutherland Lord Lieutenant Patrick Marriott said: “This is richly deserved recognition for three individuals who have served their communities and more widely across Sutherland. They are exemplars in every way.
“All three embody the value of selfless commitment and service. These awards will give so much pleasure to not only the recipients but also the families, friends and communities.”
“There will be many others (whom the recipients will know well) who will have helped to achieve these awards. I would very much like to thank them too. There will be partners, family and many others who will all have contributed. My thanks and praise goes to them too.”
Brought up in Australia, Jonathan Brett Young served in the Royal Australian Navy for 14 years and saw service around the world.
He moved to the UK in 1969 with his Scottish wife Dorothy and their two sons and settled in Sutherland in 1984, where he ran Shinness Lodge as a guest house.
Mr Brett Young founded the East Sutherland Village Advisory Service which has since developed into the East and Central Sutherland Citizens Advice Bureau. The service provided advice and assistance on a wide range of issues including employment and debt.
He has also been involved with the armed forces charity SSAFA (Soldiers’, Sailors’ and Airmen’s Families Association) for more than three decades. He was chairman of the Sutherland SSAFA branch for 13 years. The work involves supporting veterans.
He helped set up Sutherland Care Forum, which helps a wide variety of people in East Sutherland whose needs are not met by the statutory authorities.
Mr Brett Young said he was “delighted and thrilled” to receive the award, but added: ”It is the people I have worked with who should really take the credit - the volunteers and the management committees.”
Born in 1939 of a Derbyshire farming family, Dave Goulder (85) is a master craftsman dry stone dyker, folk singer, composer and writer with a passion for motorbikes.
He has had a varied career including a number of roles on the railways. He spent four years running hostels for mountaineers and was a warden at the original SYHA hostel at Achnashellach.
Mr Goulder has been involved for many years with the Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain, a charity that works to support the craft. He was appointed as an instructor for the Agricultural Training Board for the Highlands and Islands. and has produced training videos.
In 2000 he represented Sutherland in the construction of the Millennium Wall - a record of different styles of dry stone walling - at the National Stone Centre in Derbyshire.
Mr Goulder and his wife Mary have promoted music and the arts in the area, working through the now defunct Rosehall Community Arts which held a variety of events including music, drama, theatre and workshops. The group was well known among performers, and hosted big names in traditional music.
He is also a member of Rosehall and District Action Group (RADAG), a group that maintains and manages over 20km of walking trails in the Rosehall area.
Kyle of Sutherland Hub director and chairperson, Hayley Bangs, was instrumental in raising an amazing £1.8 million to build the community facility, which evolved out of an old double-decker bus and two temporary classrooms.
The unique and vibrant facility hosts a soft play area, fitness suite, cafe and rooms for hire as well as a wide range of clubs and classes.
Ms Bangs, who was previously involved in a similar hub project in Hackney before she moved to Sutherland, has also raised a further £500,000 since 2020 to keep the hub running.
She has also raised money for Bonar Bridge and Edderton primary schools, Bonar Bridge Football Club, and the Bradbury Centre in Bonar Bridge.
She is also a member of the Kyle Action Group Christmas Lights which organises a popular festive event at Bonar Bridge.
Anyone who would like to nominate other Sutherland people deserving of recognition is asked to email the Sutherland Lieutenancy: sutherlandlieutenancy@gmail.com
