Mother and daughter named in Queen's New Year Honours

A mother and daughter from Ancrum say they feel humbled after both received British Empire Medals (BEMs) in the Queen’s New Year Honours List, for their services to the community during Covid-19.
BEMs Lynsey Cargill and mum Helen Ramsay at the Ancrum Pantry.BEMs Lynsey Cargill and mum Helen Ramsay at the Ancrum Pantry.
BEMs Lynsey Cargill and mum Helen Ramsay at the Ancrum Pantry.

Having run the Ancrum Pantry for 10 years, Linsey Cargill and her mum Helen Ramsey provided an essential supply of food and utilities to the community and established a delivery service for residents who were sick or self-isolating at the height of the pandemic.

The village shop became a lifeline for many during those frightening months, particularly for the older and more vulnerable residents, who were able to phone in requests for provisions and have them delivered to their door the following morning, along with the uplift or delivery of letters and parcels.

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The shop was kept open seven days a week, and its Facebook page became a vital means of communication, signposting help available to residents.

And now, the dynamic duo have been rewarded for going above and beyond for the community they love, as they both received their letters announcing their inclusion in this year’s list on the same day.

Lynsey, 36, told us: “We were quite surprised, to say the least.

"We just turn up and do our job every day, so we feel really privileged that people have put us forward for this.

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"We don’t think we did anything special, we’ve just always tried to do our best for the villagers.

"We’ve known our customers for 10 years, so we’ve always had a good relationship with them.

"But this just shows the importance of small businesses like our own village shop to our communities when something like Covid comes around.”

Helen, 54, who gave up her job to help Lynsey out in the shop, said: “I’m feeling very humbled and delighted that the villagers have done this for us.

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"I just feel we did our job, but others must feel we did a bit extra.

"I do remember it was a scary time. Nobody really knew what the virus was, so the only thing for it was to get stuck in and help out where we could.”

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