Ties, smart jackets, smiles and plenty of laughter - that was the scenario as these boys picked up their Duke of Edinburgh gold awards.

The ceremony was held at Oxford Town Hall in 1966 in the presence of many proud parents.

Apart from the six gold winners, 88 boys were presented with silver or bronze awards by the scheme’s national director, Alfred Blake.

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Oxford organiser Percy Bickerton is pictured above with the gold winners, left to right, Julian Hopper, Keith Hayes, Clive Davis, Stephen Emberson, Anthony Gardner and David Lambert.

Mr Blake congratulated the medal winners on their achievement, but also had an important message for them and their parents in the audience.

He told them: “One of the things holding back the scheme is the lack of people who are prepared to help.

“Whatever their hobbies - bookbinding or fishing - parents can help. Mothers can help as well.”

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He also asked gold award winners not to think they had finished with the scheme.

There was still a job for them to do for the benefit of others.

He also urged award winners and their parents to come forward with their comments and criticisms of the scheme so that improvements could be made.

Mr Bickerton revealed that 51 boys were in training for the gold award at that time, and he appealed to bronze award winners to press ahead for their silver and gold.

In the past, he said, many bronze winners had “given up the ghost and disappeared entirely”.

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About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

His Trade and Tourism newsletter is released every Saturday morning. 

You can also read his weekly Traffic and Transport newsletter.