Hornsea Hero honoured by Graham Stuart MP at special ceremony

Edith Scarth

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Family, friends and fellow volunteers gathered to honour Edith Scarth at a special ceremony organised by Beverley and Holderness MP Graham Stuart on Tuesday.

Mrs Scarth was awarded an Experience Corps Local Heroes certificate to celebrate almost seven decades of volunteering by the 81-year-old.

The Hornsea resident, who has been giving her time to voluntary organisations since the age of 12, was presented with the certificate at the ceremony because she had been unable to attend a national event at the House of Commons earlier in the year.

Graham said: “It has been an absolute pleasure to celebrate and honour the life of volunteering which started out when Edith used to pack and send Red Cross parcels to Prisoners of War.

“All these years later, despite having retired as a nurse, Edith is still giving her time selflessly by volunteering with Marie Curie, the Hornsea Cottage Hospital League of Friends and even running a toy library.

“She has been, she is and she will surely continue to be an inspiration to many, many people.”

During her life Mrs Scarth has:

• Collected and sent Red Cross parcels to POWs

• Worked with the Red Cross in Easingwold, north of York, after training to be a nurse.

• Volunteered with the National Hospital Service Reserves at York during the War where she would often stay late into the evenings after her day’s work

• Fundraised for Marie Curie cancer care for the last seven years since retiring and moving to Hornsea. She was initially the sole fund raiser in Hornsea but now works with a committee of nine.

• Supported the Hornsea Cottage Hospital League of Friends which recently planted a daffodil garden of hope at the hospital

• Run a toy library for the children of Hornsea for the last seven years and will continue to contribute to this in its new venue at the children’s centre.

Now in its eighth year the Local Heroes award, organised by the Experience Corps, seeks to discover and honour the most dedicated volunteers from across the country while raising the profile of volunteering in general.