The Oxford Mail has a bulging file of pictures of young people who have received their Duke of Edinburgh Awards over the years.

Many of them were invited to London and presented with their awards by the late Duke himself at Buckingham Palace.

The group from the Oxford area in Picture 1 were among 1,000 young people from all over the country who attended a presentation ceremony in 1970.

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They gathered in the Eastern Picture Gallery at the Palace to receive their certificates and talk to Prince Philip.

We don’t know any of their names, but we can identify the two in Picture 2 – June Wheeler, left, of Arnold Road, Iffley, and Margaret Young, of Howard Street, East Oxford, who were honoured in 1965.

There was a bumper presentation in 1979 when the young people in Picture 3 received their awards at Oxford Town Hall. The roll call that day was impressive – 34 gold awards, 60 silver and 150 bronze.

The girls in Picture 4 also received their awards at Oxford Town Hall, from Oxfordshire chief education officer John Garne in 1974. That year, there were 18 gold winners, 27 silver and 87 bronze.

Some of the older gold winners are seen with the Lord Mayor, Olive Gibbs, who toasted their success with glasses of sherry.

Another civic occasion took place in 1971 when the five teenagers seen in Picture 5 with the Lord Mayor, Alderman Michael Maclagan, received their awards.

They were Caroline Wilkinson, Elizabeth King and Lyn Dear, all 18, and Lesley Monger and Patricia Young, both 19.

They were among 126 girls who were given gold, silver and bronze awards by Alfred Blake, the scheme’s national director.

The four young men in Picture 6 who worked at the Pressed Steel car body factory at Cowley were among 700 to be honoured with gold awards at Buckingham Palace in 1972.

They were, left to right, Raymond Adams, of Catherine Street, Oxford, Michael Olive, of Ramsay Road, Headington, Dennis Ruffels, of Garsington, and Thomas Goodsell, of Northway Estate, Oxford.

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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.