An Oldham man has been awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for seven decades of service to the borough, much of which has been connected to his Catholic faith.
Brian Madden, 90, has lived around Werneth Park for his entire life and has now been acknowledged for his work in education and the church.
He said: "Of course it's nice to be recognised.
"It's been a terribly difficult secret to keep, I only told my immediate family, they're all delighted."
The Oldham Times spoke to Mr Madden while he was visiting his brother's house to share the news and he added that one of his three daughters cried when he told her.
Mr Madden served as governor at Corpus Christi School in Oldham for 32 years, during which time he took on responsibility for special educational needs and disabilities provision at the school, holding the dedicated post of governor for special needs.
As a result of his efforts towards higher standards for the school, Corpus Christi was rated "outstanding" by Ofsted in 2015.
Mr Madden is a devout Catholic and a dedicated member of his church community, in the Oldham parish of Corpus Christi.
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He has played a major voluntary role in the running of the parish, including arranging visiting priests to give mass in the absence of a regular priest, arranging for delivery of communion to the sick, supervising administrative affairs including repairs, finance and social events, providing gardening services.
Mr Madden said: "My life has always been centred around the church, that's how I met my wife."
He was aged just 13 when he met his wife Hilda, and the couple will celebrate their 70th wedding anniversary next year.
Mr Madden has also worked on behalf of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Salford in a number of functions and was instrumental in the construction of the Shrine Chapel of Our Lady of Schoenstatt in Kearsley, Bolton, for which he acted as project manager, overseeing the construction.
He then served as part of the Marriage Tribunal for the Diocese, both as auditor and on the panel itself, for 15 years, with responsibility for adjudicating annulments.
In addition to his work in his own parish, Mr Madden has also been an active member of the Knights of St Columba, an international Roman Catholic charitable society, for almost 60 years, having joined in 1964.
He has been involved in a variety of activities with the knights, to raise funds for educational causes and to enhance spiritual awareness, including facilitating a series of pilgrimages to Lourdes, incorporating both sick pilgrims, and the carers and medical support staff necessary to help them.
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