Host wins MBE for charity work
A 22 year-old Marston's licensee has been awarded an MBE for her work in war-torn Sierra Leone.
Ex-soldier Aly-Joy Howarth, tenant of the Tavern in Great Harwood, Blackburn, was nominated by her army bosses following her humanitarian efforts in the African country, where she was serving with the Royal Army Medical Corps.
In her free time, Howarth helped doctors at Magbenteh Community Hospital in Makeni attend to malnourished children and advising mothers on sanitation and nutrition.
She said: "I was there to provide medical cover for our own soldiers and train the Sierra Leone army to treat their own. I went to the malnutrition ward - the only one in the country - and I was so touched by the work they were doing, I asked if I could help."
Aly also started a charity, Friends of Magbenteh Hospital, and has so far raised about £3,500 by holding events at the Tavern.
Fund raising at the pub will continue to help keep the hospital stocked with crucial provisions and hopefully pay for a bus and wages for a nurse.
"Many of the mothers there are too young to know how to look after their children properly. They arrive at hospital after walking or cycling for days and often their babies die before we can get to them," explained Howarth.
Being singled out in the Queen's birthday honours came as quite a surprise to the young licensee.
"I got a call from my colonel from Preston and he told me - I thought he was winding me up. He said to look in the Daily Telegraph for the list of honours. I was totally shocked."
Howarth took on the Tavern in March and will be stepping back from the business when she goes off to Lancashire University to become a fully qualified paramedic. Her father, Anthony, will take over the Tavern to ensure it stays a family-run pub.
