TO the hundreds of youngsters whose parents earn their living working on funfairs around the country, Valerie Moody is known simply as "Auntie Valerie".

For more than a decade she has devoted her time to organising lessons for children of fairground workers as national education officer for the Showmen's Guild of Great Britain.

Later this month, Auntie Valerie will make history when she becomes the first female member of the funfair community to receive an MBE at Buckingham Palace.

Mrs Moody, 56, is an eighth generation showwoman who grew up with all the fun of the fair in her blood.

After attending a new school every one to two weeks during her childhood, she left full time education aged 13 with no qualifications.

At the time, it didn't seem to matter. She travelled all over the country with her family working on the cash desk of the rides.

However, in 1959 she met her future husband, Arthur-Robert, who was working on the fair at Newcastle's Town Moor. They married after a five-year courtship.

With their two children, Jason and Renata, they were, and still are, part of a travelling fairground, visiting sites throughout North Yorkshire, County Durham and Northumberland.

Thirteen years ago, she took up an unpaid position at the showmen's guild, working with schools, education authorities and a wide range of advisory panels, nationally and internationally, to raise the profile of the 20,000 strong fairground community and the education of its children. She is now the national education officer for the guild.

Part of her work is to help change attitudes shown towards showpeople. Having arrived as "the new girl" at a different school every other week throughout her childhood, she has first-hand experience of the difficulties.

She said: "When I was younger and attending school I was seen as the exotic person. Teachers would introduce me as the child from the fairground, which made me stick out.

"Nowadays, there is not so much prejudice, but when you mention you live in a caravan, people's attitudes do sometimes still alter."

The couple live in a 40ft caravan, in North Ormesby, Middlesbrough, fitted with hot and cold running water, a shower and washing machine.

Mrs Moody said: "Our living standards have improved, just as everybody else's has. When we were kids, we only had a basin to wash in, now we have showers."

Her work at the guild also involves the teaching of mainstream schoolchildren about the colourful life of the travelling community.

She said: "Despite leaving school with no qualifications, I was determined that the next generation of travelling showchildren would enjoy improved access to education."

Mrs Moody will be presented with her MBE on Tuesday, October 29