Each year Dunbar Community Council recognises community champions, people, old and young, who have made some exceptional contribution to the town.
The Bowe Cup was presented by David Bowe, before WW2, for annual presentation to the ploughboy who presented the best plough team. The horses at that time wore ornate brass ornaments on their harnesses, at least on special occasions. This tradition became obsolete after the war and the cup was passed to the care of Dunbar Burgh Council and then, in 1975, to Dunbar Community Council which superseded the Burgh Council. At that time, Alastair Bowe, David Bowe’s son, suggested that the Community Council should present it annually to a young person ‘who had made an exceptional achievement’. The Community Council approved of this idea and presented it for the first time in1982.
The Community Council considered in 1995 that it should recognise the contributions made to the town by people of any age and they founded a cup which was to be called the Community Council Award. This large pewter bowl is awarded annually to an individual who had made an outstanding contribution to life in the Burgh.
Stephen Bunyan MBE DL has been an active member of Dunbar Community Council since its inception and chaired the Council until he stepped down in 2018, after some 30 years of service to the people of Dunbar. Dunbar Community Council wished to recognise this service and, in 2018, elected to purchase an annual award to be given in the name of Stephen Bunyan to mark an exceptional contribution to Dunbar’s community life by a group or team. The Stephen Bunyan Award is a silver cup with Celtic handles, made by Mappin and Webb in 1933, the year of Stephen’s birth. The oak stand was made in 2018 by David Robinson of Drem, East Lothian, to a design by Pippa Swan.
We have been so lucky to have many nominations each year. The choice of winner is very difficult and, as only three trophies can be awarded, we now make Citizen Awards, also, which are an important way to say ‘thank you’.
To make a nomination for an award please complete this form and email it to dunbarcommunitycouncil@gmail.com