Hampshire woman celebrates 40 years of volunteering and two generations of DofE Gold Award holders

• Maureen Cawte, 79, recognised for her commitment to supporting young people in sweet exchange with HRH The Duke Edinburgh, as she celebrates 40 years of DofE service and celebrates her granddaughter’s own Gold Award achievement 

• Dame Kelly Holmes MBE OLY, Vikkstar and other celebrities gave inspiring speeches 

Long-serving volunteer Maureen Cawte, 79, met His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh alongside her daughter and granddaughter, at a very special celebration recognising Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award holders and the volunteers who support them. 

Maureen, from Waterlooville, has supported over 150 young people to develop lifelong skills and self-belief through the 2nd Leigh Park Girls' Brigade; she has been volunteering her time for the charity for over 40 years as Chair of the Havant & Waterlooville DofE Award Local Network for the last 20 years, and for 25 years, a member of Hampshire DofE Forum. 

Hosted by The Duke as Patron of the DofE charity, Maureen, a DofE Leader, Expedition Trainer and Assessor, joined thousands of young people and their loved ones for a festival-style celebration in the Buckingham Palace Garden on Friday 22 May.

Her daughter Helen Patis, 51 - herself a Gold Award holder since 1993 - and her granddaughter, Abigail Patis, 19, both from Waterlooville, stood proudly alongside her during the interaction, with Abigail picking up her own Gold Award that day. 

The celebration was one of four taking place over two days at the Palace, recognising over 9,000 young people who have shown extraordinary perseverance, creativity and resilience to complete their Gold DofE in schools, community organisations, youth groups and workplaces, all over the UK.  

Maureen, who is passionate about the Award and a role model to many delivering DofE programmes, was one of just a handful of people to personally speak to The Duke at the event.   

During the exchange, Maureen, who has supported 25 young people to achieve their Gold Award, with her first being her daughter Sarah’s in 1990, told The Duke about her 40 years of service “always with The Girls’ Brigade”.  

In response, The Duke said: “Wow, really? Congratulations for that. Really good to see you.” 

Maureen’s granddaughter, Abigail, then told The Duke about her own “soggy” DofE Expedition, on Dartmoor in the pouring rain - contrasting with the sunny weather at the Gold Award celebrations. The Duke replied: “On days like this it’s just as hard, but in a different way. Well done.” 

For the Gold Award celebration event, the Buckingham Palace Garden had been transformed into a festival-style celebration for young people and their loved ones, with giant deckchairs, bunting, and activities – including some very special touches in recognition of the DofE charity’s 70th anniversary.  

Attendees heard from famous DofE Award holder Dame Kelly Holmes MBE OLY and picked up career advice from Strictly Come Dancing's Katya Jones, entrepreneur Sara Davies MBE, actress Molly Rainford and presenter Tyler West, content creator and 1/7 of the YouTube Group ‘Sidemen’, Vikkstar, former England goalkeeper David Seaman MBE and TV and radio presenter Jaz Singh, at stages throughout the garden.  

During her speech, Dame Kelly Holmes MBE OLY, a Silver DofE Award holder, spoke about her own DofE experience, telling attendees: “Being outdoors, working as a team, learning how to fend for myself was great. It gave me skills I didn’t realise I was building at the time – but then, years later, they all helped, especially when I ended up joining the Army, and then after that, training for the Olympics. Because that’s what DofE is about; getting stuck in. Finding out what you’re made of.” 

Dame Kelly went on to speak about the “demoralising” start to her career. She said: “I always wanted to become an Olympic champion. I had to fight hard and the odds always seemed to be stacked against me: injuries, illnesses behind the scenes, depression, setbacks, being told my career was over by doctor after doctor. It’s hard to put into words how demoralising that time was.  

“Weirdly, later on, I heard this Japanese proverb: fall down seven times, get up eight. I realised that was like me. Seven years of injuries. But on the eighth year, I was finally injury-free. Things started to line up. And in 2004, at 34 years old, which is pretty ancient for a professional athlete, I showed up at the Athens Olympic Games – and something just felt right. Honestly it was incredible, but almost spooky. I won two gold medals, against all the odds.” 

Dame Kelly told a captivated crowd never to give up and how “as humans, we are brilliant at beating ourselves up for the small things.”

She said: “Our minds are like Velcro for negativity. Our failures and setbacks can stick with us forever if we let them. The biggest barriers in life won’t be out there, they’ll be the barriers we put on ourselves, in our own minds. Getting your Gold is proof you can dig in, even when you find things tough. A ‘golden mindset’ isn’t about being perfect. It’s about backing yourself. Building confidence bit by bit. Little wins stack up, and they build self-belief. And self-belief can take you further than you could ever dream.” 

A Gold DofE Award is a major achievement – young people spend at least 12 months honing new skills and talents, planning and completing an expedition and residential, and volunteering for a cause they are passionate about. 

Since its conception in 1956, the DofE has reached over 15.5 million young people globally2, with more than 8.8 million young people having started a DofE Award in the UK – enough people to fill Wembley Stadium 98 times. In the last year alone, over 345,000 young people in the UK started their DofE – the highest annual starts in our 70-year history – giving over 6 million volunteering hours in their communities, worth an estimated total value of £45.4m3. 

Ruth Marvel OBE, CEO of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, said: “It’s an absolute privilege to be celebrating our amazing Gold Award holders in the Buckingham Palace Garden today – who through their DofE, have shown extraordinary perseverance and resilience, and developed core skills for life. 

“It’s incredible to think that 70 years ago, 7,000 young people started a DofE journey; fast forward to 2026 and this number shoots up to over 345,000. As young people navigate an uncertain time, we will continue to champion opportunities that build confidence, resilience and human skills for all young people. I’m deeply grateful to our volunteers, partners and supporters who make that possible, and over the next five years, we look forward to building on that further by helping an additional two million young people access a life-changing DofE Award of their own.” 

Earlier today, and to mark 40 years of being a Gold DofE Award holder himself, The Duke posted in the DofE’s 70th anniversary digital scrapbook, giving a humorous account of when his father, Prince Philip, presented him with his Gold Award at St James’s Palace, in 1986.  

In his post, which is accompanied by a photograph from The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award archive, The Duke said: “Usually, my father would give the bunch of Award certificates to a presenter to distribute, but this time he talked to our group, gave me my certificate and then said, ‘Well, since I’ve given you that one, I’ll give you the rest’ and handed the whole lot to me to hand out!” 

As the charity celebrates 70 years of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, it’s recognising DofE participants past and present and the incredible volunteers who make their journey possible — anyone with a connection to the DofE is invited to join HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and celebrate by sharing their memories in DofE’s digital scrapbook on DofE.org/your-story.