Honorary degree for former hostage

FORMER Beirut hostage Terry Waite will receive an Honorary Degree of the University of Chester on Friday when thousands of successful students graduate at a ceremony at Chester Cathedral.
Mr Waite, formerly of Lymm and still involved in a number of organisations in the Warrington area will be one of a number of distinguished names to receive Honorary Degrees.
They will take their place on the platform wearing formal scarlet gowns, gold hoods and black bonnets specially made for them by royal robe-makers, Ede and Ravenscroft.
The University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Tim Wheeler, said: “As a University, we are delighted to recognise the significant achievements of our Honorary Graduates, whose efforts and talents have made such an outstanding contribution not just locally, but often nationally and internationally. The shared attributes they have each demonstrated throughout their success within their respective fields are among those the University values most dearly.
“The graduation ceremonies represent the culmination of years of dedication, hard work and sacrifice for thousands of our students, and we wish them all every success in their future careers, and with the opportunities which their qualifications and experience will bring.”
Terry Waite’s life as a diplomat, hostage negotiator and humanitarian has earned him global prominence. His lifelong devotion to humanitarian causes in his various jobs, including working as Adviser to the Archbishop of Canterbury, saw him travel extensively throughout Asia, Africa, North and South America, and Europe.
During his early life, he joined the Grenadier Guards and then the Church Army and he developed an interest in adult learning, working with the Church of England Board of Education.
He witnessed the Idi Amin coup in Uganda and developed the delivery of aid to war-torn Sudan. In the early 1980s, his negotiation of the release of several hostages from Iran brought him to public attention. In January 1987, while negotiating the release of Western hostages in Lebanon, he himself was taken captive in Beirut and remained a prisoner for 1,763 days, four years of which were spent in solitary confinement.
Born in Bollington, Cheshire, he was educated at Lymm High and Stockton Heath Secondary Modern Schools and maintains many Cheshire connections, including his patronage of the Warrington Male Voice Choir, which came to the fore following the IRA bombings in the town.
He now lives in Bury St Edmunds and is internationally renowned as a lecturer, broadcaster and author. This year, he has held the position of Visiting Fellow at Magdalen College, Oxford. He actively supports more than 40 charitable organisations, ranging from the World Wildlife Fund to the Llangollen International Eisteddfod.
Another Honorary Degree will go to Colonel William Spiegelberg, a director of Warrington Chamber of Commerce since 1998 who was formerly company secretary of the Greenalls Group.
His voluntary work and charitable activities include chairing both the Warrington Charities Trust and Cheshire Crimestoppers and he has been a Deputy Lieutenant of Cheshire since 1995.
He was High Sheriff of Cheshire from 2001 to 2002 and lives in Oulton Park.