Janet Menell BEM

Honoured for services to the community

in Uttlesford, Essex

This incredible lady has devoted herself tirelessly to the community since moving to the district in the early 1970s, serving as a Parish Councillor for Littlebury Parish for nearly 50 years and as a district councillor in Uttlesford for 41 years, (from the council’s inception in 1974 until 2015 when Jan lost her seat due to boundary changes). 

When many others would have taken the opportunity to retire at this point (aged 78), instead Jan took on the role of school governor at our local primary school, assuming responsibility for safeguarding and child protection, and supporting the school in this capacity for six years. Furthermore, she has supported many local charities over the years and continues to serve on the board of Trustees for the Jane Bradbury Educational Foundation and Littlebury United Charities, both of which aim to reduce disadvantage in the local community. 

Jan has always been passionate about improving her local community and having worked as a community midwife for 38 years, she has a deep appreciation for rural issues, child poverty and the needs of children and families in the area. 

Whilst working as a midwife in 1994 (and having brought up a family herself) Jan recognised that many of her ‘new mums’ were feeling isolated and struggling to meet others in a similar situation due to lack of transport and local services for young families. 

As chair of the District Council that same year, Jan founded the Buffy Bus Association, first raising £15,000 to buy a second-hand double decker bus and then oversee its conversion into a mobile playbus over 28 years later, Buffy continues to be a much-loved part of community support and widely valued by both local families and professionals within the district. As chair of Trustees, Jan continues to be indefatigable in her efforts to support the service, whether she is helping to raise funds through grant applications or events or assisting with publicity and has successfully overcome a number of obstacles in order to keep the project. 

With a passion for writing, Jan has a wonderful imagination, using it to produce her first publications about the antics of Buffy Playbus to entertain a young audience. In 2016 she fulfilled her life-long ambition to publish her first novel and a subsequent sequel in 2020, about a local midwife and the ups and downs of living in a close-knit village setting. (Much like her own). 

It is with much warmth that we send our heartfelt Congratulations Jan and thank you for all the many years of service you have given the community.