Press release: The Queen’s Birthday Honours 2014

The age of recipients ranges from 19-year-old George Fielding, Chair, Ambassador and Kidz Board Member of Whizz Kidz, who receives a British Empire Medal (BEM), to 99-year-old Ethel Dobbins, who also receives a BEM for her service to the community in Thornton Cleveleys, Lancashire.

The re-introduction of the BEM has continued to provide the opportunity to recognise a large number of people who are actively engaged in charitable or voluntary work within their local community, making up 73% of the list.

Further notable BEMs include Maurice Bernard, a health campaigner in his 70s who uses his time to improve local dementia services; and Rosamond Dommett, who founded the Ashcott Mother and Toddler group in Somerset, improving rural community life. Also receiving the award is Adam Tuffrey, an inspirational teenager and role model to his peers, who had meningitis when he was younger and is now a Young Ambassador for the Meningitis Trust.

Notable Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBEs) include Shirley Fewings, Manager, Dawlish and East Teignbridge Volunteer Service, who works to support local residents, for example during the storms in February 2014 when she led her volunteers to support those evacuated from their homes.

There is also an MBE for Reverend John Wood, vicar at St Ann’s Church in Tottenham, who over the last 10 years has helped build a large and thriving community and played an active role in building local relationships following the riots in 2011.

In total, 1,149 people have received an award:

• 1,001 candidates have been selected at BEM, MBE and Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) level (300 at BEM, 474 at MBE and 227 at OBE)
• 73% per cent of the recipients have undertaken outstanding work in their communities, either in a voluntary or paid capacity
• there are 560 successful women candidates in the list, representing 49% of the total, including 1 Companion of Honour (CH), 10 Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBEs), 2 Companions of the Order of the Bath (CBs) and 39 Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBEs)
• 6.2% of the successful candidates come from ethnic minority communities, a slight increase on recent lists

There are roughly equal numbers of women and men on this Honours list (49% female) following New Year’s Honours 2014, the first time ever that there had been more women on the list than men.

Senior women at DBE in this list include Professor Jessica Corner, Dean of Health Sciences, University of Southampton; fashion designer Zandra Rhodes; economist Katharine Barker; author Hilary Mantel; and golfer Laura Davies. Most notably, there is a Companion of Honour (CH) for Dame Maggie Smith, actress.

Among the other well-known names being honoured there are knighthoods for actor Daniel Day-Lewis and classical pianist András Schiff. There is a CBE for Charlotte Edwards, Captain of the England Women’s Cricket Team, and OBEs for actor Damian Lewis, for Warren Gatland, Head Rugby Coach of Wales, and for tabla player Talvinder Singh Matharoo.

There are MBEs for Nicola Clarke, Chair of the Military Wives Choirs Foundation; singer and songwriter Cerys Matthews, and for our 3 gold medallists at the Winter Games in Sochi: Lizzy Yarnold (Skeleton, Winter Olympics), Kelly Gallagher and Charlotte Evans (Alpine Skiing, Winter Paralympics).

There is also an MBE for Stephen Sutton for his services to the Teenage Cancer Trust, sadly backdated to the date of his death. Stephen had accepted the proposed award, and for this reason his MBE is recorded alongside others in the Birthday Honours list. It is clear that Stephen touched and inspired a huge number of people and that his ambassadorial work for the Teenage Cancer Trust was greatly appreciated by all those he helped.

Philanthropy

Philanthropy has once again been a prominent theme amongst the recipients at both a national and a local level. In particular, the recommendations include a knighthood for Ewan Brown, who has made a considerable contribution to business and public life as Chairman, Scottish Financial Enterprise, and Senior Governor, University of St Andrews, in addition to a number of significant personal donations to education.

There is a CBE for Matthew Bowcock, a serial entrepreneur now at the forefront of community philanthropy in the UK. At a more local level, there is a BEM for Elaine Evans, who has personally supported the Royal Pavilion and Museums Foundation in Brighton.

Parliamentary

The Parliamentary and Political Service Committee, chaired by Lord Spicer, has recommended a DBE for Dawn Primarolo, MP for Bristol South, and a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) for Amyas Morse, Comptroller and Auditor General, National Audit Office. There are also knighthoods for The Hon Nicholas Soames, MP for Mid Sussex; and for Bill Cash, MP for Stone.

Education

In total, about 11% of honours are for work in education. The Education Committee has recommended 33 headteachers in total, including knighthoods or damehoods for the following 5 headteachers: Erica Pienaar, lately Executive Headteacher, Leathersellers’ Federation of Schools, Lewisham; Nicola Nelson-Taylor, Headteacher, Beech Hill Primary and Executive Headteacher, Walbottle Primary School, Newcastle upon Tyne; Andrew Carter, Headteacher, South Farnham Community Junior School, Surrey; Barry Day, Chief Executive, Greenwood Dale Foundation Trust and the Greenwood Academies Trust; and Dr Anthony Seldon, Headteacher, Wellington College, Berkshire.

Also honoured with a knighthood is Dr John Dunford, a former head and a major contributor to national education policy. The education BEMs include an award to Andrew Jennison, Post and Porterage Officer, De Montfort University, whose work as a Unison Learning Representative has transformed people’s lives both at work and at home.

Health

Health makes up 8% of all honours. There is a rich breadth of vocations recognised within this sector. Recommendations at MBE include 5 GPs, 3 nurses, a cardiologist, a radiologist, a paediatric physiotherapist and a dental technician.

Recommendations at knighthood level include Robert Francis QC, Chairman of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry; Mike Deegan, Chief Executive, Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Professor Michael Owen, Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research, Cardiff University and Professor David Spiegelhalter, Winton Professor of the Public Understanding of Risk, University of Cambridge.

Industry and the economy

Industry and the economy make up 11% of this Honours list. Awards include a DBE for Dr Louise Makin, CEO, British Technology Group plc; a knighthood for Philip Dilley, Group Chairman, Ove Arup; a knighthood for Professor Charles Bean, Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy, Bank of England, and a knighthood for Gerald Grimstone, for public service, particularly to business and defence.

The Committee was pleased to have received more nominations from the technology sector and for entrepreneurs. Awards at CBE include Dr David Gow, Inventor, I-Limb Hand, whose technology leads the world improving the lives of people with upper limb deficiencies; and Alastair Lukies, Founder and CEO, Monitise and named ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ at the 2011 Growing Business awards.

Awards at OBE include 1 for Dr Paul Hawkins, Managing Director and Chairman, Hawk-Eye Innovations Ltd, whose technology has been used at Wimbledon and now on the goal line for the FA Premier League. There are further OBEs for Kavita Oberoi, Founder, Oberoi Consulting, whose business provides IT training for more than 20% of GP practices and Belinda Parmar, CEO of Lady Geek, a campaigning agency that aims to make technology more appealing and accessible to women.

There is also an MBE for Jessica Huie, founder of ColorBlind Cards, who continues to give significant assistance to entrepreneurs, regularly giving her time and experience on a voluntary basis.

Science and technology

Science and technology make up 3% of the total. The awards include a knighthood for Professor Colin Blakemore, Director, Centre for the Study of the Senses, School of Advanced Study, University of London; and for Professor Cary Cooper, Professor of Organisational Psychology and Health, Lancaster University.

There are also knighthoods for Professor Thomas Kibble, Senior Research Fellow and Emeritus Professor of Theoretical Physics, Imperial College London; and for Professor John Pethica, Chief Scientific Adviser, National Physical Laboratory and Vice-President, The Royal Society.

Law and order

In Law and Order, the awards include a knighthood for Jonathan Murphy, Chief Constable, Merseyside Police, and a CBE for Judith Gillespie, Deputy Chief Constable, Police Service of Northern Ireland. The recommendations for state servants include a Dame Commander of the Order of the Bath (DCB) for Jilian Matheson, National Statistician, Office for National Statistics, and Chief Executive, UK Statistics Authority.

Among the State BEM recipients is Janet Qualters, an administrative assistant with the Ministry of Defence, who has helped to raise over £70,000 for the Anthony Nolan Trust in her free time since 2006 and has been instrumental in gaining well over 500 new bone marrow donors for the Anthony Nolan Trust register.

Sport

Awards for sport make up 5% of the total. In addition to the awards to Charlotte Edwards, Warren Gatland, and our gold medallists at Sochi, there is a CBE for Paul Sinton-Hewitt, Founder of Parkrun; an MBE for Jennifer Gunn, Vice-Captain, England Women’s Cricket Team; and an MBE for Kevin Sinfield, Captain, Leeds Rhinos Rugby League Football Club and England.

Awards to grass-roots sport include an MBE to Dilawer Singh, who has made a lifetime contribution introducing new communities to sport in Glasgow through the Scottish Ethnic Minorities Sports Association. He is currently Vice-Chair of the Sports Council for Glasgow and was part of the 2014 Commonwealth Games Bid Team.