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From the Archive: Celebrations with and for the Young People, CBE Edition
As part of the 25th birthday celebrations of the Jack Petchey Foundation, the Foundation is creating an archive of all things Sir Jack Petchey! This includes photographs, diaries, publications, certificates, and many more relating to his businesses, the charity, and Sir Jack’s personal life. My name is Katy, and I am the archivist with the fascinating job of delving into the life of Sir Jack Petchey.
On the first of every month throughout 2024, I will be offering a glimpse into that archive through a series of blogs. I’ll be picking out some of the key artefacts that tell the story of Sir Jack and the Foundation. Join us for that journey.
Objects:
In this blog, we will be looking at Jack Petchey (not yet Sir!) receiving his CBE in 2012, and the topics of debate around this – focusing on correspondence and a newspaper article discussing receiving the award with young people.
Context of Objects:
These two records (newspaper and correspondence) are both important archive sources, as they not only give us an insight into the important conversations surrounding receiving the CBE, but also how this was perceived.
In the letters, Sir Jack states that he received the honour “for the charitable work I undertake with young people across London”, and therefore requested for said young people to also participate in receiving the honour. It also discusses several events that the presentation could take place at, such as The Jack Petchey Glee Club Challenge, The Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge Finals, Cadets or Scouts Achievement Award presentations.
Although the newspaper article states that Sir Jack has “turned down an invitation to Buckingham Palace”, it does continue to talk about Sir Jack’s achievements and how he wishes to celebrate this achievement with “his people”, recognising this as a positive.
Newspaper
Correspondence
Relevance to the Foundation
One young person is quoted in the newspaper article expressing what it means for Sir Jack to be receiving his honour with them, that despite his successes, “he hasn’t forgotten us”. It links in with what Sir Jack said himself about what a wonderful experience it would be for the young people to be involved in, taking part in something that highlights so many of the Jack Petchey Foundation values to motivate, inspire, celebrate achievement – with direct proof of ‘if you think you can, you can!’.