Surrey’s Deputy Lieutenants Enjoy A Curry To Celebrate The Commonwealth

Published on: 20 May, 2018
Updated on: 24 May, 2018

A number of Surrey’s deputy lieutenants came together to enjoy a lunch at the Shahin tandoori restaurant on Woodbridge Hill, Guildford.

Pictured from left: Deputy Lieutenant David Hypher OBE; Deputy Lieutenant, Lady Toulson CBE, the Lord-Lieutenant of Surrey, Michael More-Molyneux; and the owner of the Shahin Tandoori Restaurant, Yameem Deedar,

It coincided with a meeting of heads of governments of Commonwealth countries meeting in London in April.

The owner of the Shahin, Yameem Deedar, said: “The Queen encouraged everyone to come together to celebrate the event, so we hosted our own Commonwealth lunch.

“Since a curry is enjoyed pretty universally across the Commonwealth, here in Surrey our Lord Lieutenant and deputies along with their guests were invited. It was organised by our deputy lieutenant colleague, David Hypher.

According to the Surrey Lieutenancy website: Deputy Lieutenants (DLs) are commissioned by the Lord-Lieutenant, with candidates ‘not disapproved’ by HM The Queen. Their role is to support and promote the Lieutenancy in Surrey and to represent the Lord-Lieutenant, performing a range of public duties when required.

Some of those who enjoyed lunch at the Shahin.

The maximum establishment of DLs in Surrey is 57. That number is based on the county’s population of around 1.2 million people. There are 41 DLs currently on the active list. Deputy Lieutenants retire at the age of 75 and then join a supplementary list, but carry out no further duties as a DL.

The DLs in Surrey reflect a broad range of services to the community, cultural background, ethnic mix, gender and social range. They are often well known in the locality for their work in the local community or nationally, or for their distinguished service in other fields. This could be through public life, the uniformed services, charitable or volunteering activities.