Peter Harrison, stalwart of the Stone Federation, aficionado of British (and other) Standards, stone consultant and system designer (temporarily retired but now busier than ever with a new consultancy he has started), has received Stone's highest Award, the Duke of Gloucester Gold Medal for lifetime achievement.

Peter will be on the Stone Federation stand in the stone 'Village' at the Natural Stone Show in London at ExCeL 30 April - 2 May. Get your free ticket to the Show here.

The Duke himself presented the Medal to Peter at the Worshipful Company of Masons' Master's Banquet at the Mansion House in London on 15 March. The Mansion House is the official residence of the Lord Mayor of London, who was among the guests at the banquet.

The Duke of Gloucester Gold Medal is awarded every three years to a champion of the stone industry, among whom Peter Harrison can certainly be included. Stone Federation Great Britain and the Masons' Livery Company, of which the Duke of Gloucester is Patron, jointly nominate the recipient of the Medal. Peter Harrison is a Liveryman of the Livery Company as well as a long-term active member of Stone Federation.

The Medal honours those in the natural stone industry who have accomplished outstanding achievement during their lifetime and whose work is of considerable merit. It also recognises their contribution to passing on their knowledge to subsequent generations.

The idea for recognition for those in stonemasonry was originally mooted in the 1980s when it was noted that stonemasonry did not have any kind of recognition or a supreme accolade.

Other organisations have their Oscars and Grammies, their Pulitzers and their Turners, so it was long overdue that our industry had some way of recognising those who had reached the pinnacle of achievement in the natural stone industry.

His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester, who trained as an architect and has an affinity for stonemasonry, also felt that some form of recognition should be created and was instrumental in developing the concept of a recognition for stonemasonry befitting the millennia-old craft.

And so, in 2010, the Duke of Gloucester Gold Medal was born.