At an awards ceremony held on Thursday 23 September, Her Worshipful the Mayor, Cllr Edna Fergus awarded three very special people with the Freedom of the Borough - the highest award that can be bestowed in Barking and Dagenham to people who have made an outstanding contribution to the borough.

I am absolutely delighted to see Paul, Dora and Trevor receiving the Freedom of the Borough, and I can’t think of three more deserving people.

Recipients of the Freedom of the Borough awards were:

 

Footballer Paul Ince who grew up on the Becontree Estate and went on to have a glittering career as an international footballer. Paul who started his career at West Ham United FC also went on to play for Manchester United, Inter Milan and England and has led invaluable work campaigning to kick racism out of football. He was the first black captain of the England national side – a huge achievement and one we’re all immensely proud of in the borough.

 

Social activist Dora Challingsworth, who led the Ford women in the strike of 1984 and fought for women at the plant to be classified and paid as skilled workers. Dora comes from a long line of Barking and Dagenham women who have fought for gender equality.

 

Former serving Police Officer, Trevor Lock, in recognition of both his bravery as a serving police officer during the Iranian Embassy siege in 1980 and for helping people with disabilities through his work with the Independent Living Agency.   

 

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Community Leadership and Engagement, Cllr Saima Ashraf heaped praise on those awarded: “I am absolutely delighted to see Paul, Dora and Trevor receiving the Freedom of the Borough, and I can’t think of three more deserving people. All of them are an inspiration to not only our community here in Barking and Dagenham, but to people everywhere.

“I would like to personally thank them for all their good work, and I hope that they thoroughly enjoyed receiving their awards at the ceremony.”