MBE for Bosley disaster fundraiser

A fundraiser who helped her community after four people died in the Bosley disaster has been made an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Sylvia Jenkinson lost one of her closest friends in the explosion at Bosley Wood Treatment in 2015. She said the whole community rallied to help the families of those left behind.

“Dorothy would have been thrilled by the reaction”, Ms Jenkinson said, “she would not have believed the amount of love that flowed towards her after her death. She would have been really, really happy to realise what people thought about her.”

On the day of the fire, Ms Jenkinson had been on her way to the school for a leavers service when she heard a sound like a “big bomb”.

She realised the extent of the fire straight away, and said she had known most of the people involved in the fire, as had most of the people living nearby. The fundraising started straight away with everybody joining in.

More than £230,000 was raised.

“I feel like I am accepting this award on behalf of Bosley,” she said.

She had been absolutely shocked when the envelope with news of the honour arrived, she added.

“I felt thrilled, nervous, humble, privileged – the lot, I could not concentrate on anything I was supposed to be doing.”

The investigation into the fire continues.