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Charity worker 'excited' to receive BEM

Steve Hubbard/BBC Jaswinder Kumar in a grey suit with a white and purple checked shirt. He is also wearing a purple tie and is looking and smiling at the camera. Steve Hubbard/BBC
Jaswinder Kumar has been helping his community for 15 years

A man who has been helping his community for about 15 years said he was "so excited" to be included on the King's New Year Honours list.

Jaswinder Kumar, from Bedford has received a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to charitable works across Bedford.

Mr Kumar runs a weekly free-of-charge surgery to help people, particularly from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities and those for whom English is a second language, with IT and computer problems.

"I'm delighted but truly humbled with this accolade. I never expected this award," he said.

Mr Kumar is also president of the management committee of Sri Guru Ravidass Sabha Bedford, overseeing activities and initiatives of the organisation.

Steve Hubbard/BBC Jaswinder Kumar sitting down at a desk. He is wearing a grey suit jacket with a white and purple checked tie. He is looking at the camera. Steve Hubbard/BBC
Mr Kumar plans to hang his new medal in his home and hopes it will inspire his children and family

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr Kumar and the Sri Guru Ravidass Sabha group cooked meals for key workers including NHS staff, police, care home staff, and vulnerable people.

He said he was "so proud" to receive the award and planned to hang the medal in his home to inspire his family and children.

"When you do services to other, honestly you get something back... but you never expect this to happen," he said.

"God always gives you the benefit for the service you are doing for others.

"Sometimes I work until 2am in the morning; I never get tired. Then I go to work at 5am... some people ask 'How do you do it?'. I feel so relieved to help others."

Other people from Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire named on the King's New Year Honours list include:

  • Kevin Whately, from Milton Keynes, who starred as Det Insp Robbie Lewis for in ITV detective drama Inspector Morse, and then in spin-off show Lewis, appointed OBE for services to drama and charity
  • Alexander Holmes, from Radlett, Hertfordshire, is appointed OBE for services to young people. He is deputy chief executive officer of The Diana Award, founded in memory of the late former Princess of Wales.
  • David Lloyd, the former Hertfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner, is appointed CBE for services to public safety
  • Kerry-Anne Cooper, a chaplain with Hertfordshire Police, is appointed MBE for services to the community in Hemel Hempstead
  • Actress Anne Reid becomes a CBE for services to drama. Reid was recently BAFTA-nominated for The Sixth Commandment, which explored the deaths of Ann Moore-Martin and Peter Farquhar at Maids Moreton, Buckinghamshire
  • Joseph Harrison, from Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, chief executive of Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, is appointed OBE for services to healthcare.

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