A RETIRED forester had a memorable visit to Buckingham Palace last week to receive an MBE from Prince Charles.

Esmond Harris, an 83-year-old from Calstock, was awarded the MBE for his services towards forestry and conservation in the South West.

He has been involved in various voluntary projects for many years, including being the chairman of the Silvanas Trust, helping young people into employment in woodlands, and writing several books.

He owns his own woods in Cornwall and has a small farm on which he has planted woodlands, which are regularly used for educational purposes by institutes such as Duchy College.

The award came as a big surprise to Mr Harris: 'The post came and there was this formal letter. I opened it and thought, goodness me what's this?'

He received a letter from the Prime Minister saying he would like to recommend Mr Harris to the Queen for an MBE, and asked if he would accept it.

The letter was the result of an anonymous person nominating Mr Harris for the award with an explanation as to why they believed he should receive it.

'After replying, there was a long wait and then I received another letter inviting me to Buckingham Palace to be awarded the MBE.'

He took his wife, Jeanette, and son, Geoff, with him to the palace.

'It was quite exciting to go to Buckingham Palace, it was wonderful to see. I was very privileged to go inside.'

As the Queen was away, the MBE was presented to him by Prince Charles.

Mr Harris said: 'Prince Charles also has woods in Cornwall so we talked about woods, and we talked about squirrels because he wants to re-introduce red squirrels to the area, and that is something I have been involved with.'

Since receiving the MBE, Mr Harris said he has received many congratulatory letters. 'I've had letters from friends I haven't been in touch with for years, it's got me back in touch with people.'