Retired detective who took on 2,500-mile cycle to Africa for charity awarded MBE in King's Birthday Honours List

Daily Record

16-06-2025

Retired Bridge of Allan detective Johnny Dreczkowski has been awarded an MBE for his services to a local charity and respite home in the King's Birthday Honours List.
A retired police detective who has taken on multiple gruelling charity efforts was celebrating this week after receiving an MBE in the King's Birthday Honours List.
Johnny Dreczkowski was named as a recipient of the prestigious award for his services to a local charity.
Earlier this month, Johnny, 57, completed a 2,500-mile charity cycle from iconic Stirling Castle to Morocco in aid of the Eilidh Brown respite home.
The respite home is run by the Eilidh Brown Memorial Fund – set up by the family of the tragic Stirling schoolgirl.
Eilidh sadly lost her battle with a rare germ cell cancer on March 25, 2010, just nine days shy of her 16th birthday.
Her dying wish was to have a respite created close to her home in Stirling. That became a reality back in 2023, when her family oversaw the opening of the respite home in Thornhill.
Johnny – a former Detective Inspector who served as the Head of Counter Terrorism and Covert Specialist Training – has undertaken several huge efforts to raise much need fund for the charity. Prior to his cycle to Morocco, Johnny, from Bridge of Allan, he embarked on a bike ride stretching 875-miles – from Land's End to John O'Groats – i n May 2021,
His impressive record doesn't stop there, he has also conquered the West Highland Way, the demanding North Coast 500, took on the Three Peaks Challenge, persevered through the Cateran Yomp 24-hour Challenge, and completed the London Marathon.
In May 2023, he undertook a solo cycling expedition covering 1,400-miles, from Stirling Castle to the Colosseum in Rome, with the aim of raising funds for the respite home.
Just last year, he impressively cycled around the entirety of the UK and Ireland in a mere seven days.
Johnny's close ties to the home don't end there though. His wife, the architect Ally Croll, was instrumental in making the home a reality as she worked hand-in-hand with Eilidh's family.
On receiving the MBE, Johnny said: 'I am truly grateful and humbled to have been awarded the prestigious MBE by His Majesty The King in his Birthday Honours List, and very thankful to those who nominated me.
'Although I'm the recipient, every single person, family, friend, sponsor, and well-wisher who has supported me and the Eilidh Brown Respite Home over the years, has a hand in this success, and I'm sharing it with each of them.'
He added: 'I'm just floored and overwhelmed by their love and support and I feel it in my heart. To work with them, as we try and make a difference in the lives of children with cancer at Eilidh's is the privilege of my life, and I'm grateful to Gordon, Nicole (Eilidh's parents) and the family, to be able to help.
'I'd like thank my darling wife Ally, who's stalwart support of my endurance challenges and fundraising is nothing short of remarkable, and none of what I have achieved could have been done without that unstinting love and support.
'To my mother Margaret and my late father Mitch, I am the sum of my upbringing, and I owe my values, my work ethic, my concern for others and sense of community to you both.
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'To my daughters Emma and Zoe, a father can only strive to make his daughter's and family proud, thank you for your love and support.'
As part of Johnny's most recent charity effort, he set off from Stirling Castle at the start of May and undertook a solo and unsupported cycle through seven countries, across two continents, spanning three different time zones – all within a mere 34 days, reaching the finish line in Marrakesh. That has so far netted more than £30,000 for the home, with the finally sum yet to be tallied.
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In her valiant fight against this illness, Eilidh and her family, who are from St Ninians, Stirling, cherished their time together at Calum's Cabin, a respite retreat on the Isle of Bute. It was that experience that left Elidih hoping for a respite centre much closer to home.
The Eilidh Brown Respite Home requires a whopping £50,000 per year to operate and Johnny's efforts have all been with that in mind.
When Johnny reached Marrakesh earlier this month, Eilidh's proud dad, Gordon, said: 'Johnny has been an amazing, constant support since the very start. It astounds us as a family the lengths he goes too support us – he is a machine and we are so very proud of him and full of love.'
Over the years, Johnny's relentless efforts have helped raise more than £100,000 for charity, thanks to the steadfast support of friends, family, and the local community.