Dick Barnes was awarded the British Empire Medal in the 2017 New Years Honours list, for services to the Abingdon Community. He was very actively involved in the Friends of Abingdon during the late 1990s and left several very permanent legacies, including the external staircase to the Checker, the “Yellow Book” on the first 50 years’ history of the Friends and the guide leaflet about the Buildings which we still give out to visitors. He and his wife, Doreen were also very active in other areas of the community, including St Nicolas Church and the Citizens Advice Bureau, and are still familiar figures around the town.