 The awards come in recognition of Lord Chan and the Bishop of Birkenhead's "outstanding service to Wirral", and a ceremony will be held to mark the awards later this year. Cllr Foulkes said the Rt Rev David Urquhart (pictured left) had "thrown himself body and soul" into the Wirral community. He said: "The Bishop has been involved in every facet of Wirral community and made a fantastic contribution to our Wirral life." Steve Maddox, Wirral Council chief executive, said last night: "To be granted the Freedom of Wirral is to be recognised for making an exemplary contribution to the borough for many, many years. "Both Lord Chan, who sadly passed away earlier this year, and The Right Reverend David Urquhart have shown, time and time again, the qualities for which the honour is designed, and are worthy recipients." The Rt Rev David Urquhart, who was appointed the Church of England's "special envoy" to China in May this year, became a priest in the early 1980s after doing voluntary church youth work, and has spent time working across Europe, Africa and Asia. The Bishop said he was honoured to have been offered the Freedom of the Borough. He said: "I have enjoyed more than five and a half years involvement in many aspects of local life, not least my chairmanship of Wirral Local Strategic Partnership." The Bishop will leave Wirral to take up his new post as Bishop of Birmingham later this month, with a farewell event to be held at his local church, St Saviour's, Oxton, on July 19. liammurphy@dailypost.co.uk Three heroes honoured in past THE Freedom of the Borough has only been presented three times before in Wirral. In 1992 the submariner Lieutenant Commander Ian Fraser VC was given the award, followed by Joseph Lynch GC in 1955. In 2005 Ray Holmes, right, from Bebington, the first fighter pilot to shoot down an bomber over London during the Battle of Britain, and who flew his plane into a German bomber to protect Buckingham Palace, received the award. | 
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