CLYDEBANK woman Elizabeth Ferrier royally deserved her MBE for decades of voluntary work — but shared her success with other dedicated volunteers.

Elizabeth, a former teacher at Kilbowie Primary and retired head teacher of Garscadden Primary, received the top accolade for an incredible 45 years of dedication to Girlguiding.

Starting off as a guide herself, Elizabeth went on to become leader of 1st Clydebank Guides around 1970, then 12th Clydebank Guides and later still was the leader of the 12th Clydebank Brownies.

She then moved into a key role in training volunteers to become Girlguiding leaders, helping them ensure the young people who attend reach their full potential.

Now, 45 years on, Elizabeth is vice president of Girlguiding Dunbartonshire and Girlguiding UK Her volunteering in Girlguiding has taken her around the world and she had a significant input into how Girlguiding runs as a member of national and international committees.

Collecting her award from the Duke of Cambridge last month, Elizabeth shared the honour with all volunteers who help ensure that groups such as Rainbows, Brownies and Girlguides continue to thrive in local communities.

“This is an unbelievable honour,” she revealed to the Post.

“I am so proud to have been given this award, I really am.

“However, there are dozens of leaders doing the same thing that I was doing — this award is for all of us.” Speaking of her trip to Buckingham Palace, she continued: “I received the award from the Duke of Cambridge — he was just incredibly charming and looked you right in the eye when speaking.

“He asked about guiding and I told him that it was going very well — we need to encourage volunteers more though.

“It was an amazing day and there was a wonderful atmosphere — all of the recipients were proud to receive their awards.” Elizabeth also attended a civic reception held by the provost in Clydebank Town Hall on June 21.

With her award sitting proudly on her coffee table, Elizabeth is delighted that girl guiding has been recognised for the support that it offers young women.

Girlguiding Scotland is Scotland’s largest voluntary organisation for girls and young women and is part of an international organisation with over 10 million members worldwide.

According to figures, there are almost 10,000 trained adult volunteers in Scotland, however, there are over 4,000 girls wanting to join units on waiting lists because more volunteers are needed.

The adult members and helpers in Scotland’s 3,000 units give one million voluntary hours a year — that’s equivalent to 550 full time jobs and Elizabeth is keen to encourage more people to get involved and offer support.

Elizabeth said: “There are some things that formal education can’t do for children.

“Especially for young girls, I think it’s important that they learn to be leaders in their own right.”