Broadcaster Ian Cottier has been nominated for a Tynwald honour.

The proud Manxman will be awarded the accolade on Tynwald Day this year in recognition of his public service to the Isle of Man, particularly in the areas of education, music and the arts, and his long-term charitable work.

Mr Cottier, who lives in Port St Mary, is a former head teacher of Douglas High School and St Ninian’s but is probably best known for his long-standing involvement in the brass band scene in the island.

He has presented Time for Brass on Manx Radio for more than 40 years, making him the longest running brass band radio presenter in the world.

Mr Cottier is vice president of Rushen Silver Band which he has been a member of since the early 1950s.

Born in Shore Road, Port St Mary in March 1936, he was among the first cohort to attend the newly opened Castle Rushen High School.

After graduating in English from Manchester University, Mr Cottier went on to work at various schools in the UK, as teacher, department head, deputy head and headmaster, before returning to the Isle of Man. He became headmaster of Douglas High School in 1976 where he had a central role in the 1985 reorganisation of the Douglas schools.

And then he went on to the role of headmaster of St Ninian’s High School in 1986 where he taught until his retirement in 1994.

A strong advocate of the Manx language and culture, he introduced Manx language lessons for all pupils in years seven and eight following the 1985 reorganisation of Douglas schools.

He served as a lay member on the planning committee for 13 years with his last term ending in 2020.

In addition to bringing a diligent and thorough approach to evaluating planning applications, he regularly corrected both mispronunciation of Manx place and street names and any grammatical errors in officers’ recommendations!

He has been a volunteer steward for the Friends of the Gaiety for more than 30 years.

And for nearly 30 years, Mr Cottier has volunteered for the Manx Blind Welfare Society. As well as being a volunteer driver, one of his regular duties is the recording of the Society’s news service for the visually impaired.

From 1980 to 1999, Mr Cottier was on the Isle of Man committee of the Sail Training Association and was on the was also on the island committee of the Jubilee Sailing Trust from 1982 to 1999.

In an interview with Isle of Man Newspapers last September he said: ’I’m the luckiest person on the planet’. He has kept all the playlists of his Manx Radio shows dating back four decades to the very first one in September 1980.