Charity's chairman joins Sir Jonathan Van Tam in being awarded top honour in Boston

By The Newsroom
Published 26th Apr 2023, 16:01 BST
Updated 26th Apr 2023, 16:03 BST
David Medlock receiving the Freedom of the Borough award in the council chambers.David Medlock receiving the Freedom of the Borough award in the council chambers.
David Medlock receiving the Freedom of the Borough award in the council chambers.
​The chairman of a charity which has bestowed £2.5m to Boston over the years has been given a special honour.

David Medlock has joined a prestigious list of people and organisations to be awarded the Honorary Freedom of the Borough by the council.

Mr Medlock, who is chairman of the Medlock Trust, was given the honour in recognition of his charity work to support people in Boston.

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The Freedom of the Borough is the highest honour that can be awarded to anyone or any organisation, says Boston Borough Council.

The Medlock Charitable Trust was founded by David's father, Leonard Medlock in 1985 and is a grant-making organisation focused on supporting all sectors of the community. Leonard was an Old Boy of Boston Grammar School and was raised in Ingelow Avenue, Fenside, with his eight brothers and sisters. He went on to be awarded the Honorary Freedom of the Borough in 1991.

The funds originated from the Hebron and Medlock group of engineering companies established in 1951. The trust's emphasis is spreading donations across a lot of smaller grants to organisations for whom this money will have a transformative impact. The trust is now run by Leonard's son David, who took over the family charity and business when his father retired.

Some £50m has been donated to various good causes across the UK and abroad. In its formative years, the trust supported Hinton Court, Fenside Togethe, St Mary's Convent Boston, Medlock Voluntary Centre and Resource Centre, in Church Lane. Over the last 10 years, the borough has benefitted from more than £2.5m in contributions to various good causes. These include St Botolph's Church, Boston College, St Barnabas Hospice, Boston Grammar School, SSAFA, Butterfly Hospice and the new Medlock House on the site of the old Duke of York public house.

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David said that, despite the family now being spread around the world, they all see Boston as their spiritual home and look forward to their return visits.

He said of the honour: “It's with gratitude and humility I accept this, the highest honour which the borough can bestow, may we be given many more years in which to work together.”

David joins Prof Sir Jonathan Van Tam who was awarded the honour in 2021.