 |
Catford Girls' School |
 MBE
for Sale |
MBE
For Sale - 1972|
|
Catford Girls' School |
MBE
for Sale |
MBE
For Sale - 1972Since 1968 Sybil had been the leader of the Moonshot Youth Club and the Pagnell Street Centre in Lewisham in South East London. She had been so for just over four years. She was also still acting as a foster mother in Lewisham.
She had always worked very hard to get where she was to help her community and was rewarded one day in 1972. She received a letter from the Queen awarding her the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire).
She was approached by a reporter from the local newspaper and she told him that she could not use an MBE in any way. She said to the reporter, "I would like to trade it, in exchange for a house to look after my foster children." The house she currently had was far too small and she could not take in all the children who had nowhere to live, she explained. Her very own children had to share a bedroom. She needed bigger and better premises with a full linen cupboard. She was fed up with having to tear worn out sheets down the middle and joining them at the edges to make them last longer.
The next day the newspaper had the headline, "Slightly used MBE for sale or exchange." It caused a sensation. The Mayor invited Sybil to the town hall to discuss this over lunch and try to persuade her to accept the MBE. He said that this would be an honour for all Lewisham foster parents if she accepted the award. He also promised to help her get another house to use as a hostel.
When Sybil went to receive the MBE in 1973 at Buckingham Palace she and Joe, her husband, traveled in style in the Mayor's official car.
