The King’s first Official Birthday Honours List has been announced, with more than 1,000 people awarded for their outstanding work as philanthropists, innovators and entrepreneurs.
Some of the famous faces on the list this year include footballer-turned-pundit Ian Wright, fashion editor Dame Anna Wintour and Booker Prize-winning novelist Ian McEwan. In the showbiz world, Line Of Duty actress Vicky McClure, television presenter Davina McCall and veteran broadcaster Ken Bruce were made MBEs.
But there are hundreds of lesser-known community heroes, charity champions and campaigners who have been recognised for raising awareness around important issues. According to those behind the selection process, more than half of the recipients this year are people who showed “outstanding work” in their communities, either in a voluntary or paid capacity.
Join our WhatsApp Top Stories and Breaking News group by clicking this link.
A core focus behind this year’s list are those who have had “a profoundly positive impact on how society faces up to the most challenging issues of the modern era”, according to organisers. Among those recognised are people who have made significant contributions to healthcare and education and those whose actions have helped tackle crime or helped children achieve their potential.
Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said: “This year’s honours list is a testament to ordinary people who have demonstrated extraordinary community spirit, and I pay tribute to all those who have been recognised today. Our honours system has long been a way of recognising people who make an incredible contribution to life in Britain and beyond.”
The youngest recipient on the list is Junior Jay Frood who receives a BEM for services to vulnerable children. The 18-year-old, from Merseyside, who suffered with bullying from the age of six due to his love of dancing, created the #BoysCanDance anti-bullying social media campaign, backed by well-known figures including Diversity’s Ashley Banjo.
Mr Frood, who has raised more than £300,000 for anti-bullying causes since the age of 10, said: “I feel really grateful and thankful. It shows how much my voice is being heard and I’m being heard from other people, and I really appreciate it because it’s a big honour and I’m really grateful to receive it. I was bullied from a young age, just because I was a dancer, and people didn’t agree with it, but I carried on because it was my dream to be a dancer. And I wanted to help other people who were feeling the same way as I did, and experienced the same thing I had as well.”
The oldest recipient is Joan Willett, who is 106 years old and receives a BEM for her charitable fundraising for the British Heart Foundation. She was inspired by Captain Sir Tom Moore to raise more than £60,000 for the charity during the Covid pandemic.
Ms Willett, a former teacher who has survived two heart attacks, raised money for the charity in 2020 when she completed a 17-mile walking challenge outside her care home. Ms Willett appeared on TV and the Piccadilly Circus billboards during her challenge and has since had the hill she climbed named after her.
Suzanne Jacqueline Richards from Wednesbury, who lost her son, brother and father in the 2015 Tunisia terrorist attacks, has received an MBE after setting up a charity for families who have lost loved ones in traumatic circumstances such as murder and terrorism. The 54-year-old set up Smile for Joel after Charles ‘Patrick’ Evans, 78, Adrian Evans, 49, and Joel Richards, 19, were killed in the incident.
Money donated to the charity is used to provide support to bereaved families, through holidays, bills or special gifts. Ms Richards said going forward it will help to ensure people are aware of travel advice before they go on holiday.
Ms Richards said she was “shocked” and “overwhelmed” after being included on the list, but that the gong will be shared with her son Owen, who survived the attack aged 16. “Just to get that recognition was just wonderful and straightaway I rang Owen and told him what we’d won because I do believe I share it with him as well,” she said.
Former hostage Sir Terry Waite, who spent almost five years in captivity after being kidnapped by Islamic terrorists in Lebanon, said being included in the King’s Birthday Honours list is one of life’s “peak” achievements. He has been appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) for his services to charity.
As an envoy for the Church of England, Sir Terry travelled to Beirut to try to secure the release of four hostages but was kidnapped and held captive from 1987 to 1991. He said he was kept in solitary confinement and, when anybody came into the room, he had to put a blindfold over his eyes. He also faced a mock execution and was beaten.
The humanitarian, 84, from Suffolk is the co-founder and president of Hostage International, which supports families of those taken captive. “It really is a big surprise. I had no idea that this was coming up,” he said. “Of course, whenever this sort of award is given I recognise that there are a lot of people to whom one shares that award with, particularly with Hostage International and Emmaus for the homeless. They have worked incredibly hard and still do over the years to make those organisations what they are today. I’m just a figurehead, really.”
Dr Alice Good is among the recipients recognised for her work in supporting victims of the Ukraine war. She founded Sunflower Sisters, an organisation which provides matching services and ongoing support for Ukrainians after they arrive in the UK.
Ms Good, who came up with the idea after seeing a picture of a mother with a child the same age as her daughter, said 14,000 refugees have been housed by her group. She has called on the government to step in as families come to the end of their sponsorship arrangements and try to find their own private rented accommodation.
Meanwhile, Bristol’s Razvan Constantinescu will receive an MBE after overseeing more than 4,000 boxes of aid for the people of war-torn Odessa and the neighbouring villages who have evacuated to neighbouring countries.
Award-winning hairdresser Jill Lauder, 53, from Grangemouth in Falkirk, started free pamper sessions for women with cancer and has been awarded a BEM. Mrs Lauder, who won the Scotswoman of the Year award in 2019 and was named MacMillan volunteer of the year in 2012, opened her salon Lady J’s in the town in 2011 and started hosting free pamper sessions three years later after she helped friends who had cancer with their wigs.
She told PA: “I don’t feel worthy. It’s just something I do. I don’t get all that starry-eyed way or think, ‘How amazing is that?’ I live my life to the rule: if you can do it, do it. I never look for anything back. I never want anything back. How I feel when I help someone… my heart feels 20 foot tall. To me, you can’t buy that.”
Corinne Hutton, 53, is recognised for the years of work she has spent raising awareness of sepsis and amputees. The pioneering campaigner, who almost died after contracting sepsis a decade ago, has been made an MBE.
Dr Hutton had to have both her hands and legs below the knee amputated after battling sepsis. She set up the charity Finding Your Feet, based in Paisley, in 2014 to raise awareness of the issues she had faced. In 2019, she became the first person in Scotland to receive a double hand transplant, and in the same year she was named Scotswoman of the Year.
She has since became a well-known motivational speaker, and has broken records such as for walking a mile on prosthetic limbs. On receiving the news she was to receive a royal honour, Dr Hutton said: “It was completely out of the blue. When I read the letter and double-read it, it took a wee second for it to sink in. I’m very flattered, I couldn’t help but get that wee warm glow.”
Trailblazing disabilities campaigner Michaela Hollywood, who lives with a genetic condition called spinal muscular atrophy which limits her mobility, will be made an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours for services to people with disabilities.
Ms Hollywood, 33, from Co Down, had her passion for improving the world for those with disabilities lit when she was just five after experiencing access issues at a cinema. In 2008, she faced similar challenges accessing a music concert in Belfast and founded Trailblazers, which lobbies for disabled youth.
She has also taken part in scores of fundraising efforts, including completing a marathon in her wheelchair, and fronted numerous campaigns to give others a voice. “I love the work I do,” she said. “I think that even if I wasn’t a disabled person, I’d be doing something like this anyway. I love every minute, I get so much from it. There is nothing more special than being able to help others.”
Liz Tait, from Moray, has been recognised for her services to volunteering after spending more than half a century offering dedicated support to people caught up in all kinds of crises around the world. The British Red Cross volunteer helped UK citizens escape Sudan when armed conflict broke out earlier this year and has been chosen to receive a BEM.
The 65-year-old was deployed to Cyprus in April as part of the British Red Cross’ Psychosocial and Mental Health Team when clashes started between Sudan’s military and its main paramilitary force. Ms Tait, who works as a professional lead for clinical governance at NHS Grampian, drew on leadership skills built up over her 55-year long volunteering career to help people in distress escape the country where hundreds have been killed during the fighting.
She said: “I am absolutely delighted to have been recognised in the Birthday Honours list for my work volunteering with the British Red Cross. As a team, we work extremely hard to help people who face the most difficult challenges in life and it is a huge honour to be recognised for that.”
Other community heroes recognised in the list include George Imafidon, 27, who receives an MBE for a grassroots social enterprise he co-founded which brings together young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and employers looking to attract diverse talent and Paul Harvey, who has been awarded an OBE for raising more than £1.5 million for dementia services after being diagnosed with the condition.
Suzanne Oldnall, who has worked tirelessly to support domestic abuse victims in Worcester including through the establishment of a drop-in centre, is receiving a BEM, and Trevor Gomes is receiving an MBE for his work establishing a youth mentoring programme which equips young people from disadvantaged backgrounds with the skills needed for the world of work and higher education.
READ NEXT:
Credit:Source link
