THE long, meritorious service of an Isle of Wight man has been recognised with the award of the prestigious Imperial Service Medal (ISM).
Richard Marshall served 32 years and 362 days of exemplary service during his career as a civil servant.
District judge, Andrew Grand, presented Richard, 70 — who retired in March last year — his ISM in a short, informal ceremony at the Isle of Wight Combined Courts' administrative centre yesterday (Tuesday).
The ISM was established by King Edward VII in 1902 and is awarded to retiring clerical and administrative staff with at least 25 years of unblemished civil service.
Richard, who first worked for the Post Office in London's 'Chinatown' district as a teenager, moved on to a role with the Charity Commission in Haymarket, assigned to cover Norfolk with the organisation's Charities Division.
In all, Richard spent almost ten years working in London, before returning to the Island in 1998 to work at the courts in Newport, where he spent 23 years.
His career as a civil servant was punctuated by spending 14 years living in Sweden, working for a paint company and as a bartender.
Richard, of Wootton and who grew up in Ryde, was the among the last to receive the ISM bearing the Queen's head on its reverse.
He said: "On the whole, I enjoyed my career. It is nice to have my service recognised in this way."
Richard now enjoys retirement walking, gardening and DIY.
Isle of Wight Combined Courts manager, Annette Pettinger, said she was delighted for Richard.
"He is a great mine of knowledge, who adapted brilliantly to the ever-changing court service system," said Annette.
"Richard has a very dry sense of humour and was always funny. He was part of a big family at the courts."
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