What about the boys, one reader asked, after we published a picture of girls receiving their Duke of Edinburgh gold awards.

Our picture of girls celebrating their success at a reception at Oxford Town Hall with Lord Mayor Air Vice-Marshal W F MacNeece-Foster in 1967 (Memory Lane, June 10) certainly attracted attention.

So to be fair to both sexes, here is a picture of some of the 74 boys who received their awards at the Town Hall in 1964.

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Presenting 73 silver awards, Alderman Alec Parker, Deputy Lord Mayor of Oxford, struck a sombre but hopeful note.

He told his young audience that world peace was in their hands and the more they met those from other countries, the more chance there was of avoiding war.

“Some of us older ones are still bitter about what has happened in the last 40 years – we shall have to rely on you young ones to be the ambassadors of peace.”

He urged the boys to learn as much as they could while they were young. “You will never get anywhere in this world without education,” he told them.

The sole gold winner that year was 17-year-old Gordon Gibbs, of Stanley Road, Oxford, a student at Oxford College of Further Education.

One of his main activities in achieving the award was gardening, but his aim was to become an electrical engineer.

He was to be presented with his badge by the Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace the following year.

The awards are still popular today at many schools and feature a series of challenges, including orienteering and volunteering in the community.

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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.