Recognising the Important Role of Ushers at HM Coroners Court in Woking.

It was an early start on Monday Morning to be fully attired in my Court Dress for a visit to HM Coroner’s Court in Woking. As High Sheriff I have the honour of giving High Sheriff Awards to deserving people across the County who have gone above and beyond in their service to the community. Quite often these people go unnoticed because they perform their role with such efficiency and integrity they are barely acknowledged. The HM Coroner’s Court in Woking currently has a Team of 19 ushers who perform a number of vital functions which ensure the smooth running of the court including: ensuring the listings drawn up, preparing the courtroom, swearing in witnesses, supporting families and providing comfort where needed, ensuring jurors are in the correct place at the correct time and many other necessary tasks.

At any given time there will be 4-6 Ushers on duty in the courts, and the work roster is drawn up to ensure the court is fully staffed when necessary; although a number of the Ushers have other jobs and timetables to balance. So it is a rarely they are gathered all together, which helped make the occasion today so special. Before the court sessions started, Richard Travers, Senior Coroner led the tribute to his staff before I added my own thanks and presented them with a High Sheriff Certificate. Simon Wickens, HM Area Coroner for the County of Surrey also joined in thanking the ushers and hopefully it provided an uplifting start to their week; it certainly did for Suzanne and myself.