A LONG-serving director of Cross Manufacturing in Devizes, Ralph Flower, says he was honoured to meet the Queen when she presented his MBE.

Mr Flower, 87, who received the accolade this month for his services to the British engineering industry and the Devizes community, was made an MBE in the Birthday Honours in June.

After meeting the Queen at Windsor Castle and being presented with his MBE, Mr Flower went for a family meal with wife Jean, son Mark and daughter-in-law Clare.

Mr Flower, of Devizes, said: “It was such an honour to meet the Queen and this is something me and my family will remember for a long time.

“She is a grand lady and I admire her for standing there for over an hour, handing out everyone’s medals.

“There was no chance to be nervous, as the organisers are so talented and make you feel completely at ease.”

Mr Flower is a grandfather of four and a Rotary member. He began work for Cross in Bath as a trainee engineer in 1942, when he was 15.

In the early 1960s he set up the Devizes factory, starting with just six employees. It now has 320 staff, making heat-resisting metallic seals for the aerospace, automotive and power generation industries worldwide.