'If You're Asked to Help, You Never Say No’: Mary McGregor’s Lifetime of Service Recognised with BEM
A retired teacher, whose relentless volunteering has touched communities across Moray and Banffshire, has been awarded with the British Empire Medal (BEM) in the King’s Birthday Honours.
Mary McGregor, a member of Keith North, Newmill, Boharm and Rothiemay Church of Scotland congregation, has received the honour for services to Girlguiding and the Church of Scotland Guild.
The award carries a personal significance for Mrs McGregor because of her grandfather. Many years ago, Osbert Wilson Lawrence also received a BEM for voluntary service.
“It means a lot to me that I’m getting the same award as my grandad,” she said. “He had three granddaughters, and I’m the only one who knew he had one.”
As his eldest granddaughter, Mary developed a close bond with him, growing up in Aberdeen.
“He took me for walks down to Duthie Park and to the pictures,” she remembers. “He used to stand over me while I was practising my piano playing. And he always had a new tune he wanted me to learn.”
Mr Lawrence encouraged his granddaughter’s education and proudly celebrated her success when she passed the 11+ examination.
Mrs McGregor’s grandfather and then her parents instilled a philosophy that would guide the rest of her life.
“I was brought up with the attitude that if you’re asked to do something, and you know you can do it, and the only thing it’s going to cost you is time, then you can always make time.”
A teacher by profession, she dedicated much of her time outside of classroom to serving others. Over the years Mrs McGregor became deeply involved in youth organisations, church work and community charities, often taking on leadership roles simply because somebody needed to do them.
Her introduction to Girlguiding came through her daughter. What began with helping when her daughter joined the Brownies developed into a lifelong commitment. She served as a Brownies Leader, and later as District Commissioner and Division Commissioner, supporting generations of young people through the movement.
Her contribution to the Church has been equally extensive.
Mrs McGregor has recently received her Long Service Certificate recognising 30 years of dedicated service.
She served for several years as Convenor of the Moray East Presbyterial Council and represented the region nationally through her work on the Church of Scotland Guild Theme Team, helping to develop resources used across the country. She also served on the national World Day of Prayer Committee.
Yet when asked what she gained from her years with the Guild, she says the greatest reward of Guild membership has been friendship.
"It helped me get to know people. It helped me belong.”
Retirement brought little change to her desire to make time for others.
Within months of leaving teaching she was helping in the Kirk Shop in Keith, organising Guild meetings and volunteering with Meals on Wheels.
For 12 years she helped deliver meals to older residents across the area through the Royal Voluntary Service, becoming part of a support network that provided far more than food.
"You weren't just delivering a meal," she says. "You were checking on people. If something didn't seem right, you noticed.”
Volunteers often spotted when someone was becoming unwell or needed additional support, prompting intervention from family members, social services or medical professionals.
"It wasn't just about the meal," she says. "It was about seeing somebody regularly.”
Today, when visitors arrive at Mrs McGregor’s house, they are likely to find knitting needles close at hand. Mary still knits hats and scarves for the Blythswood Care Shoebox Appeal, a cause she has supported for many years.
In 2024 she was named Keith's Community Champion in recognition of her work coordinating the town's Blythswood Care Shoebox Appeal. For many years she has organised collections locally while personally filling hundreds of shoeboxes destined for vulnerable families and children overseas.
In recent years, she has taken on a challenge that is particularly personal: filling one shoebox for every year her late husband's age would have been. This year, that means preparing 87 boxes.
Friends and colleagues describe Mrs McGregor as someone who has said yes when help was needed, whether it involved supporting young people, assisting the elderly, serving the Church or organising charitable projects.
The British Empire Medal is awarded for exactly that sort of sustained contribution to community life, the kind of service that often happens quietly and without expectation of recognition.
Mrs McGregor is modest about the honour, yet the values that have guided her for so many years remain unchanged.
"If you're asked to do something," she says, "you never say no.”
Countless people have benefited from Mary McGregor’s commitment to live by those words.
And now, that commitment has received national recognition with the British Empire Medal.