Outstanding contributions by British nationals abroad recognised on the New Year 2025 Overseas and International Honours list
The New Year Overseas Honours list recognises the outstanding contribution of British nationals abroad or internationally.
- barrister Eleanor Sharpston is made a Dame for her contribution to justice and the education of law in the UK and Europe
- orthopaedic surgeons Mr Graeme Groom and Mr Stephen Mannion are recognised with CMGs for exceptional contributions to trauma surgery in disaster and conflict zones overseas.
- several awards recognise British nationals for outstanding voluntary and charitable work overseas
One hundred and four people have received awards for their exceptional service to the UK overseas or internationally in His Majesty The King’s New Year Honours List, including for contributions to British foreign policy and international development, as well as voluntary and charitable work around the world.
Eleanor Sharpston KC, a distinguished and widely respected barrister, is appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in recognition of her outstanding and sustained contribution to law and justice. This includes her former role as Advocate General at the European Court of Justice, as well as her major contribution as a law educator in the UK and across Europe, most recently in a high-profile Professorship at the University of Cambridge.
Also recognised are outstanding individuals who have given exceptional and sustained service to health in disaster zones and conflict areas overseas. These include 2 orthopaedic surgeons working in the NHS, both made Companions in the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG), for their voluntary contributions in the field.
For over 20 years, Mr Graeme Groom has tirelessly given his free time and expertise to performing trauma surgery, limb reconstruction, and systematic training of doctors in conflict areas most recently in Gaza where he has visited over 40 times in the last decade.
Mr Stephen Mannion is the founder of the charity Feet First which has delivered operations, clinical consultations and Clubfoot treatment for over 35,000 children. Mr Mannion has also volunteered his clinical skills in the treatment of the injured in disaster and war zones around the world for over 3 decades.
Sir Philip Barton, Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Head of the Diplomatic Service, said:
In the face of significant global challenges, I am moved by the extraordinary efforts of individuals making a difference worldwide. I warmly congratulate the recipients of His Majesty’s New Years Honours and thank them for their unwavering commitment and service. They stand as a testament to the positive and far-reaching impact of the UK on the international stage.
Further information about recipients receiving knighthood-level awards on the Overseas and International List can be found below and alongside the full lists published on GOV.UK.
The Overseas and International New Year Honours list also recognises several other contributions, including awards to:
Professor Alison Elliott
Professor of Tropical Medicine, receives an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) for services to Medicine and Global Health.
Professor Elliott is a clinical researcher who has made an exceptional and sustained contribution to developing medical research capacity in Zambia and Uganda, building strong research collaboration with UK institutions, and helping inspire many young African scientists.
In Zambia in 1988, Professor Elliott was one of the first to describe unusual features of tuberculosis (TB) in people who were HIV-positive and provide evidence to support the World Health Organisation’s recommendation for TB preventive therapy for those with HIV. She then established a research collaboration between the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the University of Zambia Medical School that laid the foundation for Zambart, a research institute which continues to flourish with over 100 Zambian researchers working on TB and HIV, climate change and non-communicable diseases.
Since 1996, Professor Elliott has been based at the Medical Research Council Unit at the Uganda Virus Research Institute, where she leads the vaccine research programme that has investigated the role of co-infections on vaccine response outcomes, and from where she established the Entebbe Mother and Baby Study, which has provided unique insights into how early life experiences affect health outcomes in an African setting. Professor Elliott is a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences and of the Ugandan National Academy of Sciences, among a small number of Europeans to have been accorded these honours.
On learning of her award, Professor Alison Elliott said:
It is a tremendous privilege to work in Africa, first Zambia and now Uganda, with many wonderful colleagues, team members, communities and friends. I gratefully accept this honour on behalf of them all.
Antony Spalton
Chief of the UNICEF Operation in Darfur, Sudan, also receives an OBE for services to International Humanitarian Aid.
Antony Spalton is recognised for his exceptional and sustained contribution to international humanitarian aid. Since 1989, when he joined the organisation Afghanaid as a project officer based in Peshawar, Antony has given decades of service to charities and international humanitarian organisations in some of the most challenging environments in the world.
This included work for organisations such as the International Federation of the Red Cross and UNICEF, assisting Rwandan refugees in Tanzania, managing major development projects in Cambodia, and delivering vital supplies to rural Afghan communities across the Pakistan/Afghanistan border. Most recently, Antony has led the UNICEF operation in South Sudan with distinction and made a significant impact in protecting the lives of children affected by war in that country.
Antony Spalton said:
I was surprised and honoured to receive this award. Serving others was always part of my life as I saw my mother and grandmother working as Red Cross volunteers. Their service inspired me to help those less fortunate. I hope these awards will help bring more attention to the dire situation for children in Sudan and to other humanitarian crises around the world.
Charlotte O’Kane
National Overseas Coordinator, the British Korean Veterans Association, receives an MBE [Member of the Order of the British Empire] for services to British Veterans of the Korean War.
Charlotte O’Kane is recognised with an MBE for her extraordinary contribution to the welfare and commemoration of British Korean War veterans. Her journey began with a personal connection to the Korean War through her late husband, Henry, a Korean veteran himself who endured the hardships of combat and captivity.
Over many years, from helping to establish local UK veteran organisations, to her role in the establishment of the British Korean Veterans Association, and through to organising significant commemoration events, she has tirelessly advocated for the rights of veterans and fostered a sense of unity amongst them.
Her efforts transcended local boundaries when she assumed the role of National Overseas Coordinator for the Revisit Korea Program in 2010. Through her adept coordination and compassionate support, she has ensured that British veterans and their families have had the opportunity to revisit Korea, often personally accompanying them on their visits, and strengthening the enduring bond between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Korea.
On learning of her award, Charlotte O’Kane said:
I’m absolutely thrilled to be awarded such an honour on behalf of all veterans of the Korean War and for the service that they gave to their country in a distant land and for their sacrifices.
Barbara Laing
Founder of the Mnyakongo School Project, Kongwa Connected, in Tanzania, receives a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to education in Kongwa, Tanzania.
Recommendations for a British Empire Medal include Barbara Laing, founder of the Mnyakongo School Project, Kongwa Connected, in Tanzania, recognised for her outstanding contribution to the local community. From 1952, as a child aged 7, she had attended Kongwa School, a boarding school for European children in Tanganyika (now Tanzania).
In 2008, Barbara returned to Kongwa for a school reunion and was struck by the school’s limited resources: no electricity, no water supply of any kind, no food provided to the students during school hours, no library, and classrooms without desks or chairs so lessons were being conducted with the children sitting on the floor.
Upon her return to the UK, Barbara immediately set about founding a project to seek donations of money and equipment that has enabled her to deliver multiple projects over many years, overseen by her on the ground in Tanzania, which have made a huge impact on the school and in turn the UK’s reputation in the local community.
Barbara Laing said:
I was astonished, humbled and honoured to have my project recognised. It has been a privilege and joy in my life to maintain a connection with the wonderful country of Tanzania and to meet regularly with the schoolchildren who are growing up where I have so many memories of childhood.
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