Two former Hampshire councillors have been awarded new honorary titles.

Rob Humby, former leader of Hampshire County Council, has been awarded the honorary alderman title for his “dedication”, “integrity” and “commitment”.

Alongside him, former leader of the Liberal Democrat group, Adrian Collett, also received the title for his 42 “legendary” years of public service.

At a special full council on Thursday, October 2, the leader of the county council, Nick Adams-King, proposed both former councillors who have “demonstrated eminent service” to the county council.

Cllr Adams-King said the titles are not handled “lightly”, as they require years of service, dedication and “surviving countless hours of scrutiny panels, budget meetings, and occasionally hated debate.”

He added: “Honorary alderman are the civic glue to tie our county together.

Originally, these aldermen were appointed by the king to keep order in the shires. Few centuries later, they become the wise heads of the borough councils, elected by their fellow councillors.

“The spirit of the alderman remains alive here in Hampshire, where we honour our most distinguished councillors with that title.”

Rob Humby represented Bishop’s Waltham on the county council for more than ten years. In 2022, he was elected leader of the county council, a position he held until 2024, when he stepped down to spend more time with his family, including his children and grandchildren.

Cllr Keith Mans said that Mr Humby was a “huge” support for him when he was leader of the county council during Covid.

He added: “I don’t think that without him we would have got through the pandemic as relatively well as we did.

“He is a very worthy recipient for the title.”

Paraphrasing the former leader’s favourite phrase, Cllr Steve Forster said: “Rob demonstrated dedication, integrity and commitment to the public good. I, and I’m sure most of us, will miss him, and some of his lovely phrases such as ‘Hampshire is a great place to live, work, play and study’.

Remembering his time as a leader of the council, Cllr Fran Carpenter said Mr Humby was “married to the job”.

She added: “He absolutely loved Hampshire and everything he did was for the people of Hampshire.”

Adrian Collett was elected a member of the county council in 1983, at the time the Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister. He served on HCC until earlier this year.

Leader of the Lib Dem group, Cllr Keith House, said the 42 years of Adrian’s service were “legendary”.

Cllr House said: “Adrian, you have been a fantastic stall wall for all of Hampshire. A lot of that time was invested in your local community in Yateley and Hart. Your time has been remarkable over 42 years.

“Enjoy your retirement time with your family, you’ve earned it, but do keep coming back from time to time to give us some of your wisdom.”

Cllr Peter Chegwyn also said that Mr Collett had always had the respect across all parties in this council, calling that a rare thing. “He has always spoken honestly and has been respected.”

Cllr Stuart Bailey, who now represents Mr Collett’s division, told members that in the area, Mr Collett is a well-respected member of the community.

“He is a very hard act to follow as the new member for the division because everybody I see is asking me, ‘How is Adrian?’. Because over the years they interact with Adrian and the expectation is that Adrian was able to solve that, so you should be able to do it as well.”

Speaking to the full council, Mr Collett said: “Thank you all very much for this tremendous honour, it really is humbling to hear the comments that people had made this morning.

“I’ve enjoyed all the years serving Hampshire, but it was the right decision to step down, not just for me but also for my family, for my wife Pam, who has supported me absolutely steadfastly through all of those years. I couldn’t have done it without Pam, and she deserves now to enjoy our retirements.”

Rob Humby did not attend the ceremony.