The three people from the Isle of Man who were recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours have spoken to the Examiner about what the awards mean to them.

They are: Pam Crowe (MBE), Frank (Frankie) Horne (MBE) and Paul Healey (BEM). Mrs Crowe received hers for services to Rushen Heritage Trust and fundraising in the community.

She was described as having ‘given generously to the Manx community for over 45 years’.

Mrs Crowe joined Rushen Heritage Trust in 2014, undertaking research into women and family internees during the Second World War at the Rushen Internment Camp.

The former MHK has promoted exhibitions, articles and raised funds for the development of the Rushen Heritage Centre.

This has enabled refurbishment work, to create an exhibition space and tourist information centre, attracting more than 4,000 visitors.

Mrs Crowe said she was ‘very excited’ to have been told she was receiving an honour.

She has been involved with volunteer works since she was 12 years old, when she started with St John Ambulance.

Mrs Crowe is also the author of three books, the Manx Scenic Cookbook, the Rhymes of Mann and Rhymes of Scotland.

Asked what she was most proud of over the 45 years, the former MHK said: ‘Oh, there are a lot of things. I think what people remember most are the Secret Gardens (RHT fundraising events where people open up their gardens), which I seem to have been doing for quite a long time now.

‘The thing about volunteering is that it’s so good to get out and meet people, and to feel as if you might be doing a little bit of good’.

For the future Mrs Crowe said that ‘I hope to be able to keep fundraising for RHT for as long as possible, to enable us to do things like research people’s heritage and hold special events’.

Paul Healey is getting a BEM for services to the island through charity fundraising, as chair of Craig’s Heartstrong Foundation.

A close friend of Craig Lunt, who died in 2005 from an undiagnosed heart defect, Mr Healey has for 15 years worked with Mr Lunt’s mother Paula, enabling 8,500 people to be screened through the foundation, identifying more than 600 people with heart defects.

They have also been responsible for the widespread distribution of defibrillators across the island, in public spaces and other organisations.

He has raised more than £1 million for the charity, through things such as online auctions of sporting memorabilia.

Mr Healey said he was ‘shocked and surprised’ at the news he would be receiving the ‘big honour’ of an award, which had been hard to keep secret since April.

‘For me, it’s about the recognition of the charity more than anything else – I’m just pleased that the charity name is up there in lights at the moment and everyone is talking about it again, the more exposure the charity can get, then the better for everyone really,’ he explained.

Asked what he was most proud of in the past 17 years, he said: ‘I think the whole charity is really a big accomplishment for Paula and I, the heart screenings is what we were set up for.

‘And the next milestone we will hit is the 9,000 mark of people we have screened on the island.’

He continued: ‘But also he defibs as well, for example quite a lot of the UK are currently campaigning to have them in sports clubs and schools, places like that – and yet it’s eight years ago that we started doing that on the island.

‘I think the incident with (the collapse of footballer Christian) Erikson at the Euros 2020 highlighted the importance of defibs and the campaigns started again in the UK and around the world, but our [campaign] was triggered by the collapse of Fabrice Muamba in 2012. Mr Healey said that a major future goal would be to see every young person in the island receive a heart screening when they turn 14, as is compulsory for sports participation in Italy.

However, the cost of this would be ‘unbelievable’, and difficult to manage at Noble’s Hospital.

‘We’re screening only 800 people a year between 14 and 35, and on average 1,500 kids turn 14 each year. So we’re way behind on numbers, but we just can’t do any more, CRY who we use in the UK, they’re literally booked up,’ he said.

The third recipient is Frankie Horne, who is receiving an MBE for services to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and Safety at Sea.

Mr Horne joined the National Lifeboat institution Fishing Safety Team in 2008, and was appointed the island’s Fishing Safety Manager in 2012.

Between 1990 and late 2019, as volunteer crew member and coxswain on Peel lifeboat, Mr Horne received multiple commendations for saving casualties and vessels.

He instigated RNLI Swimsafe events across the island, and ‘greatly contributed’ to the reduction in fishing fatalities by drowning through the design, development and free distribution of a dedicated deck wear life jacket.

Mr Horne said that it was ‘a big surprise’ to hear the news, and that it was ‘very nice to have the work recognised’.

He said that he was most proud of his volunteer service to RNLI, and that now as an employee of the charity would like ‘as long as I can’ to continue his volunteer work with the Swimsafe events and the water safety courses for the local fishing fleet.