A former Whitehaven woman has been awarded the MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.
Barbara Crellin (nee Young) has lived in Rutland for nearly 40 years and is well known for community, charity and sporting work.
She lives in Oakham with husband Keith, also originally from Bransty in Whitehaven and who started work with Marchon when he was 15.
In Oakham Barbara is co-ordinator for the First Responders group and puts in up to 120 hours a month.
This volunteer group were introduced to royalty in 2019 when Barbara met the Duke of Gloucester on a visit to Rutland.
She also helped host the Duke’s visit to Oakham Rugby Union club where Barbara has had a huge part to pay, particularly in the growth of the girls and women’s section.
In 2018 she was nominated by the Rugby Football Union, for her ‘instrumental’ role in developing girls’ rugby at the club, and her commitment to establishing mixed ability rugby.
As a result she received a national award from the Torch Trophy Trust.
“I have been involved in sports in some way, shape or form all my life, whether that be spectating or whatever, and have been involved with Oakham Rugby Club for 38 years.
“It began when my children started playing for the club, and it has grown from there. I have done everything and anything from sorting out the mini junior kits and refreshments to organising fun days, from first aid to health and safety,” she says.
Indeed she is currently President of Leicestershire County Rugby Union and will be at Twickenham this week-end cheering on Leicestershire Women who have reached the county championship final against Berkshire.
Her award is for service to the Community of Rutland and Barbara says she is very honoured to receive it.
But as well as her work in rugby union and with the First Responders, she has also been a keen supporter of the Rutland Committee of the NSPCC.
A retired primary headteacher, she has always been passionate about sport, physical activity, well-being and mental health and is chairman of the Active Rutland LSA (Local Sport Alliance).
This Alliance acts as a key group in enabling key partners in sport, active recreation, health and physical activity in Rutland to work collectively to increase the opportunities for all activities in Rutland.
In her own active youth she was particularly involved in athletics and swimming. In fact she still holds a number of athletics records in the old county.
Born in the old maternity hospital at Whitehaven, Barbara moved for a short time with her family to Kendal before moving back home where she joined the third year at Whitehaven Grammar School.
After training to be a teacher her first appointment was in West Cumbria at Thornhill and all four of her children were born at the West Cumberland Hospital – Andrea, Lisa, Gary and Lyndsey.
It was when husband Keith was transferred from his work in Whitehaven that the family moved to Rutland and have been there since.
Barbara continued to work in education and was a head teacher when she retired from St Nicholas’ Primary School in Cottesmore in 2011.
Her sister Margaret Elizabeth now lives in Cockermouth while brother Graham is in Workington.
