Angela’s delight at MBE

HONOUR . . . Angela receives her MBE at Buckingham Palace

OLDHAM charity fundraiser and nursery pioneer Angela Kirkham has received her MBE from the Queen.

Mrs Kirkham (67), of Chadderton, made the trip to Buckingham Palace on Saturday with daughter Faye Swindells (36) and granddaughters Charlotte and Annabel, (11 and eight).

Angela said she was delighted to receive the honour — and joked that her curtseying was a bit wobbly.

Angela set up Victoria Brook Day Nursery in Brook Street, Chadderton, in 1977 after struggling to find childcare for her son. What started as a small group in one room blossomed into the highly-respected nursery it is today.

Angela has also raised tens of thousands of pounds for Cancer Research UK, as well as £1,000 each year for Children in Need.

Speaking to the Chronicle after receiving the honour on Saturday, Angela described the scene at Buckingham Palace: “The Queen spoke to everybody, and there were about 70 recipients at the event.

“There were people from all sorts of backgrounds with different stories to tell.

“The Queen put the badge on me and said congratulations and well done for my work in children’s care and for charities. I said ‘thank you very much, your majesty’ and had a few more words with her.

“At the end she shook my hand, I took a few steps back and did another curtsey, which was a better one. The first was a bit wobbly.

“To have shaken hands with the Queen — well, it doesn’t get much better that that. I felt so honoured. She is wonderful person. Everybody was nervous beforehand but the staff made us all at ease.”