By Sarah Lagan
Shropshire Star royal correspondent and associate editor of
Shropshire Magazine, Shirley Tart, has been appointed MBE for her 40
years of services to the newspaper industry.
Since Princess Anne’s first wedding, in 1973, Tart has covered every
royal wedding and was the only regional journalist invited to St Paul’s
for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee thanksgiving ceremony. She has met the
Queen on several occasions and interviewed Margaret Thatcher four times.
Tart
began her career on the Wellington Journal in 1957 before moving to the
Shropshire Star, where she remained women’s editor for 30 years.
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She
joined the Express & Star in 1994 as assistant editor for eight
years before returning to the Shropshire Star as associate editor and
royal correspondent.
She said: “It feels absolutely super. I’m
really touched and humbled by the response from friends and colleagues
who have helped me achieve this award and given me the opportunities
along the way. I am very grateful to them and the newspaper industry as
a whole.
“I’ve covered many big events, as you would if you’d
been around as long as I have, but many of my highlights have been with
ordinary people – I’ve found it a real privilege to be able to make a
difference to their lives.”
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Tart was also commended for her
support of local charities, her role as patron for the Hope House
appeal, for which she and the Star helped to raise £3m, and for being a
founding member of the Leukaemia Research Fund in the area.
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