Community champions, business leaders, volunteers and fundraisers are among those recognised in the Queen's New Year Honours list for 2021.
Honours List Round-up Of The Big Names Recognised
Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
Anna Louise Halls, national domestic manager at Compass Group and from March, for services to the NHS
Steve Cenci, healthcare managing director at Compass Group UK & Ireland, wrote about Anna in a company blog in September reflecting on the pandemic.
“Anna has been instrumental during this time, bringing her expertise and sharing it across the NHS,” he said.
“Her role is to develop standard operating procedures in line with the cleaning requirements of hospitals and assess what’s needed to deliver it, such as new technology and products, and importantly advise on safe and effective implementation.
“Over the past few months, people have seen how important cleaning is in reducing the spread of illness and infection and Anna is in a unique position, working collaboratively to support the development of new cleaning standards.”
She has worked for the Compass Group for 24 years.
Norah Al-Ani, director of Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre, for services to social justice and to gender equality
Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre was set up as a confidential helpline in 1982 by a small group of local women.
It was a response to a growing awareness of sexual violence against women and girls, and the need to provide a safe space.
This gave many women their first chance to talk openly about their experiences of rape, sexual assault, childhood sexual abuse and other forms of violence.
It also meant they could support each other in their recovery and healing.
“Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre has been here throughout lockdown and we will continue to be here as restrictions ease,” says Norah. “We are doing everything we can to safeguard our services now and for the future.”
Two years ago, Norah was awarded an honorary fellowship from Anglia Ruskin in recognition of her work at Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre.
Emma Samantha Evans, from March, for services to goalball and to athletes with visual impairments
A goalball enthusiast from the Fens who has been named on the New Year’s Honours List believes there is still more work to be done to develop the sport.
Emma Evans MBE from March will be recognised for her services to goalball and to athletes with visual impairments since getting more involved with the sport in 2015.
Since helping to launch the Fen Tigers goalball team five years ago, Emma has played, coached and refereed, as well as taking part in fundraising initiatives and promoting goalball within the civil service.
Emma, inspired to get involved with goalball after her son started playing while at the Royal National College for the Blind, has made her mark off the court, too.
Over the last two years, she has secured £80,000 in funding for Goalball UK, the sport’s governing body.
She has also promoted the sport as a civil servant through the Civil Service Visual Network, which aims to address and increase awareness of visual impairment issues across the civil service.
On the court, Emma, who led the Fen Tigers to international success in Malmo last year, has guided them to become the first British team to feature in the European Super League for 2021, but she does not want to stop there.
Sally Margaret Kingsland, from Cambridge, for services to the NHS - particularly during the Covid-19 response
Sally Kingsland is the clinical quality manager for North Central and East London and Infection Prevention and Control lead for NHS England (London).
She qualified as a nurse in 1996 and has a degree and masters in public health.
Sally has worked across the acute, community, social care and health and justice sectors and her current role within NHS England’s nursing directorate is to support the quality improvement, system leadership, direct commissioning and assurance functions of the organisation.
She is a member of the national Infection Prevention and Control Steering Group and the NHS England Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy Implementation Group.
Judith Martha Tsitsi Machiwenyika, nurse consultant at Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and from Huntingdon, for services to nursing and to BAME equality, particularly during the Covid-19 response
Judith, known as Judy, is chair of Royal Papworth Hospital's Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Network.
She was born in Zimbabwe where she did her general nurse training and later moved to South Africa where she also trained as a midwife.
Judy was one of the nurses recruited by the NHS during the recruitment drive of overseas nurses by the then Labour government between the years of 1997 to 2006.
She started her career in the NHS in 1999 and has been at Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust for 21 years.
In 2018, she became the Trust’s Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Network chair.
She was later promoted to a nurse consultant post in the ALERT and surgical advanced nurse practitioner teams and is one of only five nurse consultants at Royal Papworth Hospital.
She said that Papworth Hospital has made some important changes in the last two years.
For example, tighter measures have been put in place to ensure that members of staff from the BAME background are not being disproportionately represented in formal disciplinary procedures “echoing the issues that have been highlighted by professional bodies and the Workforce Race Equality standards data.
“Now, whenever a staff member from a BAME background is being put forward for disciplinary, the case is reviewed by the director of workforce and I use a pre-disciplinary tool to make sure the case meets the criteria for disciplinary and is handled fairly.”
Samuel Webb, from Cambridge, for services to architecture
Sam is an advisor to the All-Party Parliamentary Fire & Rescue Group and founder member of the President of the RIBA's Expert Advisory Group investigating the Grenfell Tower Fire.
From 2009 to 2013, he acted as an expert witness advising the three families of the three young women, and three small children, including a three-week-old baby, who died in the Lakanal House Fire, July 3, 2009 in Camberwell.
Until the Grenfell Tower fire, this was the worst peacetime fire in a post-war block of flats.
Between 1968 and 1988 he researched the construction of Ronan Point and other large panel system buildings.
His research led to the creative demolition of Ronan Point and the eight other LPS blocks on the Freemason's Road Estate in Newham London.
From 1968 he also advised Paul Foot of Private Eye and says that not only did their work ask searching questions about LPS construction and its suitability for high-rise buildings but they also uncovered the Poulson Affair.
Sylvia May Cundell, senior crown prosecutor at East of England, Crown Prosecution Service and from Huntingdon, for services to law and order
One of her most high-profile cases, and certainly one of the most unusual, was her handling of the CPS case against a man who collected more than 5,000 rare bird eggs in Norfolk.
The case, from two years ago, attracted international attention.
He was sentenced to 18 weeks in prison today and given a Criminal Behaviour Order of 10 years.
Sylvia Cundell remarked: “The laws against the taking of wild birds’ eggs are there for a reason - to protect species from decline.
"The CPS is committed to the robust prosecution of those who commit offences against protected wildlife.”
Dr Alastair James Burn, principal specialist in water and pollution and from Ely, for voluntary service to nature conservation in Cambridgeshire
Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM)
Valerie Elizabeth Ware, from Wisbech, for services to the community in Tydd St Giles
Valerie said: “I was absolutely amazed; I could’ve been knocked down with a feather when I got the phone call. It’s a great honour.”
She has been a member of the Women’s Institute for 40 years.
For 33 of those years, she was on the committee and spent eight years as Chair of the Isle of Ely Federation which she gave up only in May.
The retired headteacher has also served as a school governor for 18 years, a parish councillor for 20 years, organised dances in the village community hall and also the bi-monthly over-60s lunches.
She added: “We’ve had to stop the community activities because of the current situation, but we’re keen to get started again as soon as it’s safe to do so.”
Janet Christine Bays, from Wisbech, for services to the community
Andrew Thomas Bendon, from Willingham, for voluntary service in Cambridgeshire during the Covid-19 response
Andrew is an emergency response volunteer with the British Red Cross.
The 58-year-old, who joined the Red Cross seven years ago, was awarded the BEM for his voluntary services in Cambridgeshire during the Covid-19 response.
At the beginning of the charity’s Covid-19 response in the UK, it was Andy who stepped in to set up and manage the Cambridgeshire food distribution warehouse in the shell of a building.
From physically getting the building fit for use to briefing and leading a team of volunteers, Andy managed the first ever food delivery from 8am-8pm to make sure nothing was turned away.
Andy has volunteered over 500 hours since then, spending his days organising the warehouse and his evenings in supermarkets buying specific items that have been requested by members of his community.
“I thought it was a hoax,” says Andy of the honour. “It was about 7pm at night when the email came through and I thought it was spam.”
Once he was over the initial shock, Andy felt honoured and humbled with his nomination.
“I don’t feel I deserve it,” he says. “As a volunteer, I’m happy to get stuck in and do what needs to be done. None of us do it for the recognition.”
The first person he told however was his mother.
“She was a bit down in the run up to Christmas so it was lovely to be able to give her some good news,” he says.
Andy is also excited to share the news with the rest of his volunteering team in the warehouse.
“Everyone works so hard and there is still so much more to do that this honour will give us all a real boost.”
Since March 2020, the British Red Cross has reached over 1.5 million people in the UK providing food, medicines, emotional and wellbeing support, transport to and from hospital as well as providing a range of education resources online as we continue to support the most vulnerable communities through the crisis.
British Red Cross chief executive Mike Adamson is delighted that Andy is getting recognition for his work during this difficult time:
“Andy is a shining example of the exemplary staff and volunteers we are lucky to have to support the vital work of the Red Cross.
"He is a true humanitarian and works tirelessly to support vulnerable people when they need it most, especially during the past year.
"We are profoundly fortunate to have him in the team. He is a true ambassador for the Red Cross and we are delighted to see him honoured in this way.
“I would like to pass on my congratulations on this well-deserved honour and thank Andy for his continued passion for helping to make a difference.”
Dr Tamsin Mary Holland Brown, community paediatrician at Cambridge Community Services NHS Trust, for services to the NHS during Covid-19
In 2019 children’s doctor, Tamsin Holland Brown, showcased an innovative hearing device she created to The Duke of York during an official visit to Cambridge.
Dr Holland Brown, who works for Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust explained: “In nine out of 10 sufferers, Glue Ear clears up within a year.
"Some children are unable to hear well while they have glue ear and this can in turn affect their speech, language, listening and learning abilities.
“When my daughter experienced glue ear in 2014, I could see she was struggling.
"I wanted to find a solution for the many other children being affected by this common condition.
“In my own time, I set up the Hear Glue Ear research project and put together a cost-effective headset and microphone.
"The headset uses a bone conduction transducer which transmits sound as a vibration, through the cheekbones directly to the inner ear, missing out the eardrum and any glue ear.”
Using bluetooth technology, the headset can connect to a small microphone attached to the lapel of a parent or teacher enabling the child to hear everything being said.
Over the last 10 years Tamsin has been working as community paediatrician with a special interest in audiology, first in Suffolk and now Cambridge.
She trained at St George’s Medical School, London, and has worked at St Thomas’s, Guys’, the Middlesex/UCL and abroad at The Royal Perth Hospital, and Sydney Childrens Hospital.
David John King, specialist paramedic at East of England Ambulance Service and from Cambridge, for services to the NHS and to fundraising
Dave King is part of the Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) that provides NHS paramedic care to any persons within a hazardous environment that would otherwise be beyond the reach of NHS care.
This includes the provision of NHS care within the inner cordons or hot zones of incidents.
As our photo shows Dave has supported children hospitalised over Christmas with toy collections.
The photo is from 2017 when he collected toys and gifts for the children’s ward at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, to be distributed over Christmas to the children who were too unwell to be home on Christmas Day.
Gabriella Pimentel, musculoskeletal clinical specialist at Warrior Sports Rehabilitation and from Cambridge, for services to the elderly during Covid-19
Combining a career working with elite athletes and an MSc in sports medicine, Gaby's main interests and expertise lie within a sports rehabilitation field. Gaby remains involved with national gymnastics and football.
Gaby is an expert in high grade hamstring injury rehabilitation and general lower limb injury, having written articles in both areas for women's running, CP performance and a variety of other platforms.
A Musculoskeletal Physio specialising in the treatment of female athletes, she has spent the majority of her career working in a variety of elite environments ranging from England Women’s football to Chelsea FC, British Gymnastics to Muay Thai Kickboxing.
She currently works in a sports rehabilitation clinic in Shoreditch (Warrior Rehab), alongside being a senior lecturer in physiotherapy at St Mary’s University.
Dr Michael Paul Weekes, infectious diseases clinician at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and from Cambridge, for services to the NHS during Covid-19
Dr Pamela Mary Fisher, from Cambridge, for voluntary service to the community in Cambridgeshire
Queen's Fire Service Medal (QFSM)
Christopher John Strickland, chief fire officer of the Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service
Chris joined Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) as Assistant Chief Fire Officer in 2007, having spent 24 years with Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service where he joined as a firefighter aged eighteen.
He spent 12 years as a firefighter before being promoted to station officer, the equivalent of today’s station commander role, later becoming group, then area commander.
After joining CFRS, Chris spent three years as assistant chief fire officer before being promoted to deputy chief fire officer in 2010.
Chris was promoted to chief fire officer in 2016. In addition to his responsibilities within CFRS, Chris also chairs the National Fire Chief’s Council (NFCC) Sector Resources Committee and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Local Resilience Forum.
Chris said: "I am truly honoured to be receiving this award from Her Majesty. I never thought when I began my career that I would be recognised in this way.
"Being in the fire service is such a rewarding career in itself. I've been lucky enough to work with some great people who have helped me along the way.
"One thing that has always stayed with me is how different each day is, whether a firefighter on a watch, a station commander or chief fire officer, no day is the same.
"This year has certainly shown that. I thought I had encountered most things, then I found myself in the midst of a global pandemic trying to keep an emergency service operational.
"I wouldn't have even been considered for this honour without the help and support of the great team I work with at Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service.
"I will receive the medal on their behalf and wear it with great pride."
Councillor Kevin Reynolds, chairman of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire Authority, said: "I am delighted that Chris has received this honour.
"Chris has provided outstanding leadership throughout his career in Cambridgeshire, which has been particularly prevalent during the pandemic.
"This has certainly been a contributing factor in us being recognised as one of the top performing services in the country."
Chris said: "I am truly honoured to be receiving this award from Her Majesty. I never thought when I began my career that I would be recognised in this way.
"Being in the fire service is such a rewarding career in itself. I've been lucky enough to work with some great people who have helped me along the way.
"One thing that has always stayed with me is how different each day is, whether a firefighter on a watch, a station commander or chief fire officer, no day is the same.
"This year has certainly shown that. I thought I had encountered most things, then I found myself in the midst of a global pandemic trying to keep an emergency service operational.
"I wouldn't have even been considered for this honour without the help and support of the great team I work with at Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service.
"I will receive the medal on their behalf and wear it with great pride."
Knights Bachelor
Professor Simon Baron-Cohen
In Cambridge, Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, professor of autism research at the University of Cambridge, became a Knight Bachelor for services to people with autism.
Simon Baron-Cohen FBA FBPsS FMedSci, aged 62, is a British clinical psychologist and is the director of the university's Autism Research Centre and a Fellow of Trinity College.
Order of the British Empire (OBE)
Professor Usha Claire Goswami
Professor Usha Claire Goswami FBA, professor of cognitive developmental
neuroscience at the University of Cambridge received an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to educational research.
Usha Goswami is a Fellow of St John's College who returned to Cambridge in 2003, having previously left the department in 1997 to become professor of cognitive developmental psychology at the Institute of Child Health, University College London.
Prior to first arriving in Cambridge in 1990, she held academic posts at the University of Oxford, and the University of Illinois.
Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
Dr Sally Ann Forsyth
Dr Sally Ann Forsyth, chief executive officer of Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst from Cambridge received an OBE for services to business and to science.
Stuart Paul Gibbons, managing director of Le Mark Group and from Holme, for services to international trade
On his company’s website Stuart offers some insight into his likes (spending time with family and friends, wine, being able to say ‘I made that’ and finding time for reading).
He also some dislikes such as “wearing back-to-front baseball caps (and then squinting at the sun), my own mistakes, not having a purpose every day, unruly children”.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given? "The word ‘interesting’ is neither ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and it buys you time to make the right decision.
He says people often ask him “Why did you start a business like Le Mark.
“Its's a really simple answer, necessity. It all happened very fast, from being a part of a business family to going solo happened within one week!
“However aged 29, anything was possible and I saw it as an opportunity to not only provide for my family, but to test and unlock a new entrepreneurial part of me.”
Thirty-four years later he says “Le Mark is still growing, evolving and as an entity is something far more than I ever anticipated.
"It has its own family, regional & political voice, plus a unique sense of social awareness.
“As a manufacturer and supplier, it has been an integral part of many national and global events.
"It has a wonderful group of committed sales partners and suppliers on all continents.
"It has grown from being ‘just’ a business, it is now an entity in its own right and continues to exceeded even my wildest dreams”.
Professor Valerie Gibson
Professor Valerie Gibson, professor of high energy physics at the University of Cambridge received an OBE for services to science, women in science and to public engagement.
Professor Gibson holds a Special Honours BSc in Physics from the University of Sheffield (1983) and a DPhil in Experimental Particle Physics (1986), The Queen's College, Oxford.
She was a Fellow in the Experimental Physics Division at CERN (1987-89) and came to Cambridge in 1989 as an SERC Advanced Fellow, held concurrently with the Stokes Senior Research Fellowship at Pembroke College (1989-1994).
She was appointed as University Lecturer and Fellow of Trinity College in 1994, Reader in 2006, held a Royal Society Leverhulme Trust Senior Fellowship (2007-08) and became a Professor in 2009.
Dr Roger Michael Owen Hall, medical director at Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and from Cambridge, for services to the NHS and the Covid-19 response in the East of England
Roger is a consultant cardiothoracic anaesthetist and intensivist.
He studied medicine at Otago University in New Zealand and completed his specialist training in the UK, New Zealand and Australia.
From 1991 to 2002 he was a consultant at Green Lane Hospital in Auckland, New Zealand, practising both paediatric and adult cardiac anaesthesia and intensive care before moving to Papworth Hospital.
In May 2015 he was appointed medical director.
Richard Anthony Lee, from Longthorpe, for services to business and equality
Richard is chief people officer at Willmott Dixon, a privately owned construction and property services company.
He started his career at Shell, working in the Middle East, followed by roles at QA plc and the University of Nottingham.
Richard heads up Willmott Dixon’s Centre for Leadership Excellence, which is developing and promoting outstanding women leaders.
He was instrumental in securing the RICS Inclusive Employer Quality Mark for Willmott Dixon.
Isobel Sheldon, director of business development at UK Battery Industrialisation Centre and from Huntingdonshire, for services to motor vehicle battery technology
Battery manufacturer Britishvolt appointed Isobel Sheldon in June to be Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) and Head of the Advisory Board, to support building the UK's first large scale cell Gigafactory.
The company said that in her new role, Isobel's familiarity with the global battery landscape will allow her to lead a 'home-grown' initiative, and become an integral part of Britishvolt in the production of high-performance lithium-ion cells.
Having amassed nearly 20 years of Lithium-ion battery industry experience, she joined the company from the Government-backed UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (UKBIC) – which aims to transition the country into a world leader in cell design, development and manufacture for vehicle electrification – where she served as Director of Business Development.
She described her objective to “develop a robust, risk-based plan that will help revitalise and strengthen the UK's manufacturing sector, and honour its heritage and excellence in lithium-ion batteries
"This is not only one of the most exciting green projects currently taking place in the world, for both the automotive and energy sectors, but will be of huge national importance as the UK Government looks to fulfil its green agenda and meet its Road to Zero targets.
“The lithium-ion cell industry is one of the fastest growing and dynamic areas of modern technology at the moment, which Britishvolt's 30 plus GWh Gigafactory is ideally positioned to capitalise on, potentially creating more than 4,000 jobs for the UK economy."
Dr Nicholas Keith Coni, co-founder of the University of the Third Age, Cambridge, for services to education for older people
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