MBE for charity stalwart Eddie

POPULAR Burwash resident Eddie Workman was this week rewarded for years of service to the village with an MBE in the New Year Honours.

Eddie, 55, received the honour in recognition of his many fund-raising exercises for the local community.

Some of his more memorable efforts have included a one-man marathon from Brighton to Burwash to raise money for the village school and a pancake race to raise funds for repairs to the road surface.

Perhaps his most famous fund-raising effort was a 'mile of pennies in the High Street when 350 was raised by people lining coins along the whole length of the main road.

Mr Workman, a born and bred Burwasher, was the village greengrocer for 35 years until changing his profession to builder five years ago. He said he found out about the honour at just after midnight on New Year s Eve when his daughter rang to tell him the news had been posted on the internet.

Delighted

'I m absolutely delighted, he said. 'I m very proud I m still choked about it and still bursting into tears!

Eddie, who is chairman of the village Golden Jubilee committee and who has been instrumental in the running of the Burwash Fair for many years, added: 'My parents were very village-minded, and my sister was also very much village-orientated. I have received a good living from Burwash, I just wanted to pay something back. I have received a lot of help in everything I have done. There are lots of people who help me.

Burwash resident and Sussex Express Parish Pump compiler Mary Taylor paid tribute to Mr Workman, saying: 'He does anything and everything in the village.

He is very community-minded. If anything good has happened in the village it will probably have come from Eddie. He does so much behind the scenes and this honour couldn t have gone to anybody better. He is very kind and does things for people without thinking about it.

'If anybody is in trouble Eddie is always there for them.