Bridlington Rangers chairman John Gibson praises ex-Ranger Curtis Woodhouse's royal award

Gibson said: “As chairman of Bridlington Rangers Junior FC I was delighted that Curtis Woodhouse had been awarded the British Empire Medal in the New Years Honours list .

“Curtis joined Bridlington Rangers when he was eight years old.

“His first training session was at the Gypsey Road Playing fields.

“It soon became clear that he was a talented young footballer who had the skills to make progress in the sport.

“He worked hard over the years to ensure that he could make his career in the professional game.

“He played for a number of leading clubs in the Football League.”

Among the sides Woodhouse would play for were Sheffield United, Peterborough United, Hull City and Birmingham City.

Gibson added: “A highlight for Curtis was when he was selected to play for the England Under-21s against Sweden Under-21s.

“It was remarkable that two other former Rangers players were selected for the same game, namely Lee Morris and Richard Cresswell, the three of them were equally talented.”

England, who were skippered by Frank Lampard, won the game 3-0.

Gibson said: “Curtis was a modest youngster he never boasted about his talent.

“He always gave 100% on the field, he played for the team not just for himself.

“He lived up to the Rangers motto “To Win Fairly and to Lose With Honour”.

“He was very popular with his teammates and footballing friends.

“Curtis has been a great ambassador for Rangers and he has never forgotten his footballing roots. When he was the manager of Bridlington Town he and I often chatted about Junior Cup finals he played in at Queensgate.

“He remembered far more of these games than I did!

“Well done Curtis Woodhouse BEM. You have done Ranger, Bridlington and your country proud.”