Mrs Seehra, wife of Mr Gurdial Singh Seehra, mother of Satbinder, Sukhvinder, Manvinder & Rubinder, started working for the Inland Revenue 25 years ago as a customer advisor. She's been beavering away at her job both in the office and at local melas diligently which came to the attention of the hierarchy recently. On the 26th of October 2004 she was honoured by H.M. The Queen with an M.B.E. at Buckingham Palace. The family was and is still, delighted by her achievement. The Ramgarhia Sikh Association acknowledged Mrs Seehra's award by presenting her with a Saropa on the birthday of Guru Nanak Sahib Ji in front of the congregation on the 30th of November to encourage her to keep serving the community as she always has.

"I was born in Village Bundala, India, on 19th April 1936 and moved to Kenya in early February 1948 to join my father with other family members. After completing my secondary schooling I did my Teacher Training locally and joined my old school as a Handicrafts Teacher in Nairobi. My interests were sports and helping the needy. I became a Group Scoutmaster and badge examiner, Outward Bound Course Instructor, Kenya Amateur Athletics Official, Hockey Coach, and also started taking interest in wild life preservation by joining Mrs. Michaella Dennis with the Nairobi National Park. These activities had to be shelved when I was offered a scholarship by the Government to come to England to further my studies. I did my Diploma at Loughborough College in 1959-60 and returned to teaching at the same school. I was made Discipline master, Sports Master and given other duties and looked after my own team called the Railway Gymkhana and started helping the Kenya Hockey Union with the national team. It was then that I started my social work and decided to help my own school develop further. To this purpose I revised the old boys' society, called the COGS, to raise funds for a library, playing fields, and swimming pool. My enthusiasm rubbed off the old boys and the necessary funds were raised to complete these projects. The society, under my prompting started the 50 Kilometres walk, which was included in the Kenya Athletics Association Calendar for the Olympics. I joined the Lions International Organisation to help with charitable work for Dr. Barnardos Childrens' Home, Thika School for the Blind. My biggest duty was as the Convention Secretary to arrange programmes for nearly 4000 delegates over two weeks, and landed lots of top awards.

Having worked as teacher on Education Officer grade I felt like a change due to the political circumstances and moved to England in December 1975 with my family. My taste for social work continued when the Ramgarhia Association in Woolwich invited me to run their Youth Centre and this gave me an opportunity to start a local team for hockey. Meanwhile, on the advice of the Handicrafts Inspector I started my teaching at Charlton S.B.School, then to join John Roan and to West Greenwich School as deputy head of department. This closed down and I was moved to South East London where I became Head of Department for Design and Technology to see its closure due to falling rolls. The inspector decided that I should gain experience of working in a mixed school thus to Kidbrooke School and back to John Roan School. Meanwhile I became an assistant examiner for CDT for the London and East Anglian Exam Board till my voluntary retirement from ILEA in September 1988.

I felt the need for a break and took my disabled father to India where I had not been since 1962. Upon my return I joined Beverley School in New Malden where I was invited to various gatherings to advise how CDT should be taught. Alas my trips to India must have made me pick up a virus causing my early retirement in 1992 on the advice of the heart surgeon who told me to rest for a whole year. The rest did me good but I could not get back to teaching as I had priced myself out due to my qualifications and years of service. My wife told me to forget it and take it easy after teaching for over 39 years. In order to pass my time I continued to look after my hockey team and organise the Greenwich Hockey Festival, which I had started in 1983 with the full support of London Borough of Greenwich to bring the local communities together in harmony. I became a full time Umpire and the Kent League Secretary for 3 years. The Ramgarhia Sikh Association had long felt the need of a mother tongue school in the area and decided to open one in their Community Hall. Having decided on a suitable name the management committee persuaded my wife Kuldeep to perform the opening ceremony on 8.11.98. She donated money to ensure it started on a sound foundation and persuaded me to run it instead of sitting idle. This was just the spur I needed to do more for the community and what better way than for a Punjabi School. I had lost touch with my mother tongue since my childhood. It was a challenge I needed in my current routine and my involvement became concerted. When I saw the small children coming to the school to learn Punjabi I realised the fulfilment of a dream. I saw my own identity and, in truth, felt these children would be able to communicate with their elders in the language, and most importantly be able to learn about their culture by reading the texts with their elders in the tongue. Other activities which are currently in place are: Sewing classes; a Pre-school; Information Technology; Indian Classical Musical sessions; Youth Groups; Gatka (Punjabi fencing) sessions; and English. The attendance in the school varies from 120 to 82 every Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. and with students from other communities joining to learn the language to help with their work. I realised that at last I had fulfilled my life's achievements and service to my community when I received a letter stating that I was being nominated for the M.B.E. in the New Years Honours list. This came true when I read my name in a national newspaper and congratulations started pouring in. I am really excited at the prospect of going to Buckingham Palace to receive the award from H.M. The Queen. This will be my second visit as my wife also received her M.B.E. in October 2004 thus making my award a second one in the family. My children are all thrilled at this turn of events in their life and waiting to see whom will I pick to accompany me to receive the award. I shall keep devoting my time in serving the community and pray to God to give me courage and health to do so in the future".

written by: Gurdial Singh Seehra

(Since writing the above personal information, he has received the award as above)