TWO Penarth residents were recently invited to a Buckingham Palace reception to mark the fiftieth anniversary of The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.

Bob Skinner and Kathy Seddon were among a group of Welsh Fellows introduced to the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.

Fellows from every decade since 1965, including representatives from Australia and the United States, were guests at the reception, hosted by the Queen, Patron of the Trust.

Dr Seddon, a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts and specialist in eLearning, used her Fellowship to set up an international project, ‘Arctic to the Mediterranean’, that allowed schools across Europe to monitor butterflies as an indicator of climate change.

The website for her project, produced with the help from Exeter University, won international prizes.

Kathy, of Plas Taliesin in Penarth Marina, is involved with RSA Council work including community projects Barry Ideas and Tafflab.

Bob Skinner, of Windsor Court, The Esplanade, former Penarth Times reporter and Fellow of the Institute of Public Relations, was head of public relations for Cardiff City and South Glamorgan County Councils. He spent three months studying public relations and public consultation in major cities in India, the USA and Japan,

His book on the subject led to some British local authorities, including Cardiff City Council, introducing the more ‘open’ local government style adopted by Tokyo and other cities.

Since 1965 over 5000 British citizens have been awarded Fellowships involving world-wide travel and research covering a wide range of subjects.

The knowledge and innovative ideas they brought back were shared with their profession, their community and in many cases, the nation.

To mark its fiftieth anniversary the Trust has just awarded a record number of 150 Travelling Fellowships, investing over £1.3million in British citizens.

Major General Jamie Balfour, Director General of the Trust said, “Sir Winston’s legacy lives on through our Fellows - individuals who, like him, have vision, leadership, a passion and purpose and a commitment to help their fellow citizens”.