Imagine having the chance to meet HRH, The Duke of Edinburgh in 1980, 1988 and again in 2011! Peter Kaye, a Gold Awardee and a Duke of Ed National Board Director, doesn’t have to imagine having this incredible experience. Peter’s devotion and hard work for The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award has seen him interact with the Founder of The Award program on a number of occasions..jpg)
Peter completed his Silver Award in 1976 and took another 6 years to complete his Gold Award. The organisation of the Adventurous Journey component was a challenge for Peter, “The Adventurous Journey was worth waiting for as I completed an incredibly challenging bushwalk being blindfolded day and night.” Through the commitment of Peter and both of his Coordinators Alexander Bailey and Vivienne Ashcroft, he received his Gold Award in 1982.
Since then, Peter has never left The Duke of Ed family. “I have been passionate about The Duke of Ed and have witnessed on numerous occasions the life changing benefits it can make when in the hands of a motivated Award leader,” says Peter. Peter has taken on many roles when it comes to The Duke of Ed including having being a Coordinator for over 250 Participants, a Gold Award representative on the NSW State Award Committee, a National Board member, and Treasurer of the Asia Pacific Region to name a few.
“One of my highlights was as the Coordinator for a Bronze Participant who started and completed her Bronze Award at Mawson Base, Antarctica. This was in the mid 1980s and all our communication was over a two way radio,” said Peter.
During the course of his involvement with The Award, Peter has also met the Founder of The Duke of Ed on a number of occasions, the first being at a Gold Award presentation in 1980 at the NSW Conservatory of Music. He was also lucky enough to attend the founding of the International Award Association in Brisbane in 1988. This was a three day forum where HRH The Duke of Edinburgh chaired and directed the proceedings over the course of the event. In 1999, Peter was the Master of Ceremony at a private dinner attended by HRH, The Duke of Edinburgh in Sydney, and he has been a delegate at The Duke of Ed International Forums in Cape Town, Barbados and Edinburgh with HRH attending.
“On the initial meeting there is that wow factor of having met someone very special... The fact that he was the co-founder of The Duke of Ed along with Lord John Hunt and Kurt Hahn, and it carried his name made this initial occasion very memorable,” said Peter.
HRH Prince Phillip, The Duke of Edinburgh has shown passion for The Award over the years. For Peter, this was evident at the inaugural meeting of the International Award Association as well as during meetings in Cape Town. “He was quoting references from the constitution without opening the document,” said Peter. “His Royal Highness did far more than ‘lend’ his name to The Award. He actually drove it, and through his visits propelled it in every country that showed the slightest of interest.”
When asked what meeting the Founder of The Award program meant to Peter, he replied “In many ways, it’s not the subsequent meetings with His Royal Highness that have assisted in motivating me to remain an active volunteer, but rather, meeting and working with the many tremendously talented people that have given their time to The Duke of Ed.”
Pictured above: HRH, Prince Phillip, The Duke of Edinburgh (left) and Peter Kaye (centre) in Capetown
