A YEAR after receiving the news that she was to be awarded the MBE for her services to the world of cardiology Selkirk’s Wilma Gunn has at last collected her medal during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace in London last Thursday.

The founder and chairman of Scottish HART was supposed to get her medal from Her Majesty in June of this year at the Palace of Holyrood House but unfortunately was in the ITU department at Borders General Hospital.

Last Thursday morning all the disappointment was forgotten when Wilma was Invested to the Order by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles.

There to accompany her was husband Kenneth and her son Douglas with his wife Jillian.

“It was well worth the long wait,” said Wilma.

“His Royal Highness was absolutely charming and had a full knowledge of what Scottish HART was achieving and was especially interested that I came from Selkirk which he knew was next to Bowhill the ancestral home of the Dukes of Buccleuch and Queensbury.” Following the Investiture Wilma was guest of Lord Steel of Aikwood who showed her and the family around the Palace of Westminster and took them into both Houses of Parliament where they witnessed at first hand the work and the debates being held during the day.

Wilma added: “This award was to me but it is also due to the hard work of many people here in the Borders and across Scotland who have worked hard to ensure that lives have been saved and continue to be saved both by the screening programme set up at Hampden Park and by the distribution of defibrillators across many communities which are accessible, many in areas which are remote and cannot have professional help within the tight limits that are needed in the case of cardiac arrest.”