A NEW High Sheriff has been appointed for Berkshire.
Willie Hartley Russell was sworn in at a virtual ceremony on Friday, March 26 at the declaration ceremony.
He succeeds the outgoing High Sheriff, Mary Riall, of Ufton Nervet.
Mr Hartley Russell said it is a “great honour” to be appointed.
“As the Queen’s representative for law and order in the county I look forward to my dual role of supporting the criminal justice system and promoting social justice, particularly in respect of understanding the problems that confront our communities and supporting the voluntary sector in their valiant work for those in need,” he said.
He added: “I look forward to working with and supporting the judiciary, the police authority, local prisons, the probation service, the fire and ambulance service, local authorities and voluntary organisations.”
Mr Hartley Russell said his area of focus this year will be almshouses, the elderly, modern slavery, the 900th anniversary of Reading Abbey and building a new High Sheriff’s Fund at the Berkshire Community Foundation.
The office of High Sheriff is the oldest secular office in the United Kingdom after the Crown. The High Sheriff is appointed personally by the Queen at a meeting of the Privy Council, by Royal Warrant.
The ceremony was presided over by the Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire, James Puxley, and witnessed by Chris Juden JP, chairman of the Berkshire Bench.
