A Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award holder from Greenford met Prince Phillip when he was invited  to a presentation celebrating the scheme through the decades.

The Duke’s 500th Gold Award Presentation event celebrated more than 200,000 young achievers and was held at St James’ Palace on Thursday last week (October 10).

A gold award winner from each of the seven decades since the scheme began in the 1950s was invited, and there were two sessions with about 350 people in each.

Steve Campbell, 57, of Robin Hood Way, was the representative for the 1970s at the special ceremony, as one of the first two boys to achieve this from Peckham Manor School in south London.

Mr Campbell, who has lived in Greenford for more than 25 years, was honoured in 1974 and said he went to Buckingham Palace with his mother to collect his prize when he was 18 years old.

The 57-year-old, now an IT project manager for a software company based in Twickenham, said: “The Thursday afternoon was an opportunity for the Duke to meet people from different decades, talk to us and share our experiences.

“It was a real privilege and honour to have been asked to attend this landmark occasion.

“I did the DofE because it was a challenge and sounded quite interesting – an opportunity to do things I had not done before.

“There were a number of sections you needed to complete over 18 months including an expedition to the Brecon Beacons, community service, working in a phab club (physically handicapped and able-bodied) in south London – allowing people with disabilities to be in an environment with able bodied people, trying to bridge the gap.

“We also did physical activity and I had music as my interest as I played the clarinet.”

Mr Campbell, who was born in Georgetown, Guyana, also represented the award scheme in Australia in 1979 – one of five UK representatives as part of an international celebration of Gold Award holders from across the Commonwealth.