AN Ipswich stalwart of the Royal British Legion has been recognised in the Queen's New Year's Honours list.Kenneth Wilding, a dedicated member of the Royal British Legion in Suffolk for half a century and who was one of the driving forces behind making the annual poppy appeal in Ipswich and county a success, has been awarded an MBE.

AN Ipswich stalwart of the Royal British Legion has been recognised in the Queen's New Year's Honours list.

Kenneth Wilding, a dedicated member of the Royal British Legion in Suffolk for half a century and who was one of the driving forces behind making the annual poppy appeal in Ipswich and county a success, has been awarded an MBE.

Mr Wilding, who has lived in Martlesham Heath since the end of the war, joined the Royal British Legion in 1953 and served as the chairman of the Kesgrave branch for 50 years.

He was poppy appeal organiser for the east of the county for 35 years and for 14 years was president of the Suffolk county Legion.

Mr Wilding was born in Woodbridge and during the Second World War served in the Royal Army Medical Corps field hygiene section, seeing active service under Field Marshal Montgomery in the north African campaign against Rommel and then taking party in the invasion of Italy.

Apart from his devotion to the Royal British Legion, Mr Wilding was also involved with the charity Age Concern.

"I have devoted my spare time to looking after the needs of the elderly and those who fought for their country, but I never expected when I started 50 year's ago that I would receive any recognition for it," said Mr Wilding.

Mr Wilding, whose wife, Wendy, died just three days before they were due to celebrate their diamond wedding in 1999, has two children, three grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Other local honours include rugby World Cup winner, flanker Martin Corry, whose wife, Tara, comes from Ixworth and who was married two years ago at St Edmundsbury Cathedral, was also given an MBE.

Keith Skues, a member of the original team of disc jockeys who launched BBC Radio 1 in 1967, has been made an MBE for services to broadcasting and charity.

Mr Skues, 64, from Horning, has become a legend of the airwaves and now presents a late-night show on local radio across the Eastern Counties, taking in BBC Radio Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridge.

He said: "Gobsmacked was the word when I found out. Since then, it's been a misture of delight and surprise. There are many people out there more worthy than I am."

Colin Goddard, a former special constable who has been a member of the security team at Sizewell B since its earliest days, has been awarded an MBE for his services to the nuclear industry.

And Elizabeth Stone, an administrative officer with the Department of Work and Pensions, from Beccles, was also given an MBE.