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Wednesday, 3 October 2023

Queen's Birthday Honours List 2012 – full details

  • Published: Saturday, 16 June 2023

The Queen's Birthday Honours List 2012 has been published today. In this Jubilee year, the re-introduction of the British Empire Medal has created even more opportunities to recognise the achievements and service of extraordinary people across the UK.

Varied list of winners

The majority of awards recognise contributions from extraordinary people outside the public eye. In this year's list, 72 per cent of award recipients are honoured for charitable or voluntary work in their local community.

Find out who has been honoured by downloading the lists below.

Make-up of the honours list

In total 1,201 people have been recommended to the Queen for an award:

  • 1,064 candidates have been selected at BEM, MBE and OBE level (293 at BEM, 532 at MBE and 239 at OBE)
  • there are 498 successful women candidates in the list, representing 41 per cent of the total
  • six per cent of the successful candidates come from ethnic minority communities

Recognition for a wide range of contributions

This year’s list reflects the contributions of a wide range of people, including a gymnastics coach, a college caretaker, a comic book writer and an expert in fungal genetics.

Famous names

Among the well-known names being honoured is actor Kenneth Brannagh, who receives a knighthood. Actress Kate Winslet and cookery writer and broadcaster Mary Berry are awarded CBEs, as are journalists Alexander Chancellor and the Rt Hon Peter Riddell.

The OBE is awarded to singer-songwriter Gary Barlow, who has made a significant contribution to charity, choirmaster and broadcaster Gareth Malone, comedy writer and broadcaster Armando Iannucci. Also honoured in actress Jenny Agutter, in recognition of her service to charity.

British Empire Medal

Extraordinary people

Audrey Lloyd is a true exemplar of community spirit, helping to raise funds for a community centre to bring residents and families together

Recipients of the British Empire Medal (BEM) include:

  • Audrey Lloyd, who has worked tirelessly for over 30 years for Whale Hill, a small community of 1500 residents situated within a deprived ward of the borough of Redcar and Cleveland
  • Anne Vance, who has been the backbone of the Praxis Care befriending scheme over the past 22 years, for services to people with mental illness in Northern Ireland
  • Alice and Milly Pyne, for services to charity - Alice was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma disease at the age of 13, and the sisters have raised over £31,000 towards research into the disease as well as bravely put themselves forward to raise awareness of the need for further research

MBEs

Extraordinary people

Emma Colyer's work has been recognised by the World Health Organisation as a model of best practice for working with children and young people affected by HIV

MBE recipients include:

  • Emma Colyer, who launched her own charity, Body and Soul, and has devoted her working life to helping children and families affected by HIV
  • Anthony Lowe, who set up FareShare, a charity which addresses food poverty and food waste by redistributing surplus product from the food and drink industry to organisations working with disadvantaged people
  • Clive Ongley, who founded the AHOY Centre in 2002 and has changed people's lives through sailing - especially people with disabilities
  • Pauline Ward, who has been Chairman for Purton Helping Hand in Wiltshire since its formation 47 years ago, caring for the sick and those in need of help
  • Rosamund Spearing, founder of South London's pioneering horse riding charity, Ebony Horse Club (EHC), who has helped improve the lives of hundreds of disadvantaged children

OBEs

Extraordinary people

A wheelchair user herself, Ruth Owen is a powerful voice and role model for children and young people with disabilities

OBE recipients include:

  • Ruth Owen, Chief Executive of Whizz-Kidz, which has raised nearly £40m under her leadership and achieved national recognition for the impact it has had on the lives of thousands of young wheelchair users
  • Patrick Clarke, who has changed the lives of many young people through the Minority Ethnic Role models for Learning and Aspiration (Merlin) and Mosaic Mentoring Programme and led many businesses through the Prince’s Seeing is Believing Programme, which engages business leaders on responsibility issues

Philanthropy

Philanthropy has again been a prominent theme amongst the recipients. The list includes a DBE for Theresa Sackler, a generous and committed supporter of arts and culture in the UK for over two decades.

Knighthoods are awarded to the philanthropists Charles Dunstone, founder and chairman of Carphone Warehouse Group, who has made personal donations to a wide range of charities and initiatives, and Richard Stilgoe, who set up the Alchemy Foundation and has made donations of £13m to good causes. There is a KBE to Earl Cadogan, who has made the management of Cadogan Estates his work of a lifetime, enabling the support of many charitable institutions.

Awards to women

Awards to women comprise 41 per cent of the total. Women candidates include 8 Dames, 39 CBEs and 2 CBs. The DBEs include:

  • Dr Mary Archer, the driving force behind the formation of Cambridge University Health Partners and a champion of patient care and safety
  • Zaha Hadid, the award-winning architect whose most recent work includes the Aquatics Centre in the Olympic Park
  • Lucy Neville-Rolfe, a role-model for women in business who has led Tesco’s community engagement programme
  • Professor Julia King, Vice-Chancellor of Aston University

Awards to MPs

There are also three MPs honoured in this list including a Companion of Honour for Lord (Michael) Howard. Knighthoods go to Graham Watson, the Liberal Democrat MEP for the South West of England; and to Alan Meale, the Labour MP for Mansfield.

Following the establishment of a new Parliamentary and Political Services Committee for the current honours round, knighthoods are awarded to:

  • Tony Baldry, Conservative MP for Banbury, who has made a significant contribution to public life outside Westminster and is currently the Second Church Estates Commissioner
  • the Rt Hon Malcolm Bruce, Lib Dem MP for Gordon, Vice President of the National Deaf Children’s Society and Chair of the Deafness All Party Group in Parliament
  • Tony Cunningham, Labour MP for Workington and renowned campaigner on human rights and international development
  • the Rt Hon George Reid, who has served with distinction as Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament

The Committee also supported a DBE for the Rt Hon Tessa Jowell for her service in support of the London Olympics.

Law and order

In law and order, awards include a CBE for Nicholas Crichton, District Judge, who has dedicated himself to the welfare of children and families who are involved in the family justice system, both in the UK and overseas. An OBE goes to Kim White, a Police Constable in Kent Police, who has devoted a lot of her own time to assisting female members of the gypsy traveller community.

Education

About 10 per cent of honours are for work in education. Fifteen headteachers are recognised, along with a similar number of teahcers.

Robin Bosher, lately Headteacher of Fairlawn Primary School and Haseltine Primary School in Lewisham, receives a knighthood. There are also two CBEs and 12 OBEs awarded to headteachers. Knighthoods in the education sector also include former headteacher Dr Daniel Moynihan (Chief Executive of the Harris Federation of South London Schools), Peter Birkett (Chief Executive of Barnfield College in Luton and Professor Richard Evans (Regius Professor of History at the University of Cambridge).

Education MBEs include an award to Doreen White, Social Area Supervisor at Franklin Sixth Form College in Grimsby, who has served staff and students for over 20 years.

Health

Health makes up 7 per cent of all honours. There is a DBE for Professor Tina Lavender, Professor of Midwifery at the University of Manchester, who has had a real impact in reducing maternal mortality in Africa. There are also Knighthoods for Thomas Hughes-Hallett, Chief Executive of Marie Curie Cancer Care, and Professor Robert Lechler, Vice Principal and Executive Director of King’s College London.

Recommendations at MBE include four GPs, four nurses, a dermatologist and a speech and language therapist. There is also an MBE for Patricia Connell, who has demonstrated a devotion and commitment over and above her working hours as Healthcare Assistant at Bradford Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Industry

Industry and the Economy make up 12 per cent of the awards and include a GBE for Sir John Parker, in recognition of for service to industry and the voluntary sector. As Sir John is Chair of the Economy Honours Selection Committee, his nomination was considered in confidence and ex-committee by members of the Main Honours Committee.

Other awards include a knighthood for Dr William Haughey, a successful businessman who has donated over £5m to various charities, and Brian Pomeroy, Chairman of the Independent Commission on Equitable Life Payments, who has made a significant voluntary contribution.

There is a CBE for Ronald JONES, Founder and Executive Chairman of the Tinopolis Group, one of the UK’s largest independent media companies. OBEs go to for Sahar Hashemi, one of the UK’s most inspirational female entrepreneurs, and Jonathon Kingsley, one of the leading figures in the UK games industry.

There are MBEs for a wide variety of people, including Emma Jones, author and founder of Enterprise Nation and a role model for women and young people in supporting start-up businesses in the UK.

Science and technology

Science and technology makes up two per cent of the awards. There is a DBE for Professor Janet Thornton, Director of the European Bioinformatics Institute, which has had a worldwide impact on bioinformatics over the past 40 years. There are also knighthoods for Professor Tim Gowers, winner of the Fields Medal, the mathematical equivalent of a Nobel Prize and Professor Michael Sterling, who has turned round the Science and Technology Facilities Council.

MBEs include an award to Trevor Hayward, Technical Manager at the University of Birmingham, who has helped others achieve their scientific goals throughout 47 years of exemplary service.

Arts and media

Arts and Media make up 6 per cent of the total. In addition to DBEs for Zaha Hadid and Theresa Sackler, there are knighthoods for Michael Boyd, Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and for David McVicar, widely regarded as one of the leading opera directors of his generation.

OBEs include an award to Tamsin Little, a world-renowned violinist who has performed in schools, hospitals, and prisons for no financial reward in order to make music accessible to all.

Those supporting local communities through the arts are also recognised, including an MBE to Winifred Lewis who, through her role as Principal of the Stafford School of Dance, has enriched the lives of thousands of pupils and their families for over half a century.

State sector

State sector awards include a KCB for Paul Jenkins, Chief Executive and Permanent Secretary at the Treasury Solicitor’s Department and a CB for Edgar Jardine, Interim Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Policing Board, who has given invaluable service to the Northern Ireland Civil Service in a diverse career spanning almost 40 years. He has also made a wide contribution in his local community, including 25 years on the Board of North Down YMCA.

Sport

Awards for Sport make up 4 per cent of the total. There is a CBE to former professional footballer, Paul Elliott, who has been at the vanguard of English football’s anti-racism movement and an MBE for Luke Donald, one of the best golfers in the world.

Shane Williams, whose international rugby career culminated in Wales’ inspiring 2011 World Cup performance, is awarded and an MBE - as is former England goalkeeper David James, for his service to Football and to charity.

Those engaged in grassroots sports are also recognised. Awards include an MBE for Kenneth Woolcott, who created Popmobility in 1967, initially as a novel way for the Middlesex Ladies’ Athletics Club to keep fit. Popmobility continues to this day, with followers of all ages training regularly at a local level.

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