Duke of Edinburgh award asks people to share their memories following Prince Philip’s death
‘Tell us how doing DofE helped shape you. Tell us the challenges you tackled,’ it says
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Duke of Edinburgh award scheme is asking people to share their memories of taking part in the youth programme following the death of Prince Philip.
On Friday, Buckingham Palace announced that the duke had died at the age of 99, at home at Windsor Castle.
The duke was discharged from hospital, following a procedure for a pre-existing condition, just over three weeks ago.
Now the DofE charity, founded by the duke in 1956 to transform the lives of young people, has requested that participants share their memories of taking part.
On the DofE website it says: “To celebrate the duke’s inspiring impact on generations of young people, we’re asking anyone who’s been in the DofE across the decades to help us build a powerful collection of your DofE stories, and inspire the next generation of young people to begin their DofE journey.”
And the request isn’t just for those who have completed the Duke of Edinburgh award, which can be done at a bronze, silver or gold level – it is also asking anyone to come forward who is working towards the achievement.
“We’re asking you to share your DofE story. Tell us how doing DofE helped shape you. Tell us the challenges you tackled or the fears you overcame,” the website says.
“Tell us the talents you discovered, the mistakes you made or the friendships that still hold strong.”
The DofE memory sharing is open to anyone – participants, parents, carers, volunteer managers or leaders – and the form is to be submitted online.
Since the request launched over the weekend, people have already begun sharing their stories on Twitter.
Author and soldier Levison Wood said: “The @DofE Award gave me an insight into life beyond my own village as a teenager. It inspired me to travel, taught me the beauty of the outdoors, saved me from getting into serious trouble and got me into the British Army as an Officer. None of that possible without HRH.”
Another said: “Just so all you lovely people know – I completed my Duke of Edinburgh gold award when I was a young lad in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire. I’ve been a big fan of the Duke ever since and can’t believe he’s gone. I’m not an obvious royalist – I respected him as a human being.”
And another said: “I worked hard towards the DofE Award but I was terrified of camping outside and dropped out. If I knew then what I know now, I would have faced my fears and understood that this is the idea of the award, to challenge yourself and succeed in that challenge.”
When asked about the DofE scheme being his legacy, the duke said: “[My] legacy? No, no it’s got nothing to do with me. It’s there for people to use. I couldn’t care less. It’s relevant too because it’s part of the process of growing up.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments