The Bowe Cup
This cup was handed over to the New Community Council in 1975 by Dunbar Burgh Council in whose keeping it was. I consulted Major Alastair Bowe, the grandson of the original donor, to discuss how it might be used. His suggestion that it might be awarded annually to a young person who had achieved something special was accepted by the Community Council. It was agreed that the something special might be a particular achievement in sport or otherwise or might be some special act of service to an individual or to the community.
At that time younger people left school earlier and the presumption that it might be someone who had left school at an earlier stage and had made good. We are fortunate in Dunbar to have young people who are prepared to give something back to the community. In earlier years we found it relatively easy to find possible awardees.
The community is now larger, and we now seem to have a wider range of young people who seem able to follow their dream. It is good that we have widened the field to be aware of people who have great achievements. We have limited it to those living in the area which the Community Council serves. We realise that this excludes many Grammar School pupils, but they can be recognised in their own areas. It was felt that individuals should not receive it more than once. A certificate could be issued for a later achievement.
It has been awarded to someone as old as thirty. Current thought is that twenty five.is a more appropriate upper age limit. It has been awarded to much younger people. The Community Council decides in April to whom it should be awarded in June. At the same time, it would identify recipients of certificates of merit. They have proved popular both for old and young. The Bowe Cup was first awarded in 1982 to Steven Spence who raised money to buy a wheelchair for a disabled person.
The Community Council Award
After some years it was proposed that we should have an award for a person of more mature years. The same general principles apply to this award It is awarded for various achievements. We made a ‘self-denying ordinance’ some years ago that it should not be awarded to an individual who, at the time was a member of the community council. It was awarded for the first time in 1995 to Tom Anderson for his contribution to local history.
Stephen Bunyan Award
It had been felt for some time that we needed an award to acknowledge the contribution made by groups or teams. On one occasion the Bowe cup was awarded to a team; [2013 to Dunbar under 15 Football Team]and on others to more than one individual. The Community Council decided to mark my retirement in 2018 by creating a Stephen Bunyan Award. It was decided this should be awarded to a group or team for special achievement. It was agreed that though the team would be Dunbar based it could include members from elsewhere in the ward. The first presentation was made in 2018 to Dunbar Grammar School Debating Team. More information can be obtained from the Community Council minutes or from the files of The Courier both at John Gray centre. The list of awardees is available in Dunbar History Room.
Stephen Bunyan
2/07/20
