A WELL-KNOWN character has looked back over his colourful life in the wake of being awarded an MBE.

David ‘Sparrow’ Harrison was very humble about the accolade, which he collected from Buckingham Palace last month, saying all he had done to achieve it was to have “lived long enough”.

But you don’t have to talk to the 75-year-old for long to understand why his life stands out from the ordinary.

After a privileged upbringing in Denbigh with his sister Valerie, children of Herbert Harrison and Jeanette Ward, he decided he wanted to give something back and founded Denbigh Amateur Boxing Club in 1956.

The sport helped him build up his own confidence after suffering badly from a stammer, which is now barely perceptible, and he believes the sport can be a huge help to youngsters and adults who are finding life difficult.

“Both grandfathers were generals so I was brought up to be a man,” he said.

“And boxing gave me some street credit.

“It’s a hell of a discipline and takes courage, that earns you respect.

“It gives people who are frightened a bit of confidence and those who are aggressive a channel for it.

“It’s a very controlled sport and when you teach people to box you are teaching them how to behave.”

Sparrow is still a senior trainer at the club and reckons he can still pack a punch or two.

His difficulties with speech also prompted him to found the British Stammering Association, another good reason for him to have been awarded an MBE.

“I didn’t have confidence because I couldn’t communicate,” he explained.

“The biggest thing I’ve done is overcome my stammer, to battle back from that is difficult.

“I had the choice to be silent or communicate but risk looking like a fool.”

Fortunately he bravely took the latter option and claimed setting up the Cae Dai Trust, which provides sheltered accommodation for marginalised people such as ex-offenders, the homeless and those who have suffered drink and drug addiction or mental health problems, helped him tackle his stammer.

After the closure of the former North Wales Hospital, Sparrow was determined to do what he could to help.

“Running Cae Dai really helped me, I had to face people head on.”

Sparrow’s aunt Rose Ward OBE, who “basically began the Girl Guides up here”, was clearly a huge influence on his life and was a great inspiration for his desire to help others.

“She was a very strong Christian and I still believe in Christian values.

“I’ve always felt privileged to have this place (the Cae Dai estate, which also houses a 1950s memorabilia museum) and I wanted to use it for something useful.

“I believe that if you can work, it helps you cope with things and Cae Dai gives people who have got into the wrong area in life a chance to get back into life by working with us.

“It gives you purpose and discipline.”

As well as working hard in the community, Sparrow has also enjoyed life.

During his 20s he moved down to London as a mechanic where he spent much of the swinging 60s.

He was the lead singer in a rhythm and blues band called Sparrow and the Gossamers and says The Rolling Stones came to one of his gigs when their creator Alexis Korner filled in for his lead guitarist.

One of Sparrow’s wilder claims, which is just as likely to be true as false, is that “Mick Jagger stole my moves”.

“It was the start of Beatlemania but I don’t think I swung as much as some people.

“You’d see the Beatles walking down the street and (Brian) Epstein (manager of the band) lived in the next street to me.

“It was a very small world.”

The band would often play in the notorious Kray twin’s clubs and it was at this time Sparrow became acquainted with the pair.

“I didn’t know who they were then though, I just thought that was what clubs were like.

“It’s safe to say they weren’t very friendly.”

These two are not the only dubious characters Sparrow has met along the way: he also became good friends with Bruce Reynolds, the mastermind behind the Great Train Robbery in 1963.

“He didn’t take much notice of me until I mentioned the Krays.

“But we became very good friends and he came to stay here in Denbigh once.

“I liked him very much, he wasn’t a villain, he was the brains.”

He also proudly announced he had won a mention in the autobiographies of no less than three celebrities including DJ John Peel, the notorious Ronnie Kray and cricketer Richie Benaud.

But Sparrow downplays his achievement claiming his privileged background simply gave him the opportunity to better himself and help others that many people would gladly do, if they were able.

“I’ve learned to understand life, I’ve come from a privileged background so I’ve been in a position to use it,” he concluded.

“I’ve seen people want to put so much into other people’s lives but haven’t got the money to do it.

“I’m just lucky, that’s all.”