The Queen’s Birthday Honours 2015
The Queen’s Birthday Honours lists 2015, published today, recognise the achievements of a wide range of extraordinary people across the UK.
Recipients stretch from Helston in Cornwall, where Verna Tripconey receives a BEM for services to the community and to the East Lizard Helpline; up to the Orkney Islands, where John Muir receives a BEM for voluntary service to the community and to the Italian Chapel Preservation Society.
Read the full Birthday Honours lists 2015.
There are 86 years between the oldest and youngest recipients on this list. There is an MBE for 103 year old Dr William Frankland, a pioneer in allergy research who introduced this specialism to the UK; and a BEM for 17 year old Natasha Lambert who was born with athetoid cerebral palsy and is recognised for her charitable fundraising.
In total, 1,163 people have received an award:
- 1,013 candidates have been selected at BEM, MBE and OBE level (295 at BEM, 481 at MBE and 237 at OBE)
- 70% of the recipients are people who have undertaken outstanding work in their communities either in a voluntary or paid capacity
- There are 595 successful women candidates in the list, representing 51% of the total
- 6.9% of the successful candidates come from ethnic minority communities, a slight increase on recent lists
- 6.3% of the successful candidates consider themselves to have a disability under the Equality Act 2010
The proportion of women (51%) in this Honours list equals the previous highest share of female honours, in the 2014 New Year’s list. Senior women at DBE in this list include Frances Cairncross, distinguished economist and lately Rector of Exeter College, Oxford; Professor Frances Ashcroft, Professor of Physiology, University of Oxford; and Zarine Kharas, Founder and Chief Executive of JustGiving.com.
There are a number of well known names being honoured in this list, including knighthoods for actor, comedian and co-founder of Comic Relief Lenny Henry; singer and songwriter Van Morrison; and Welsh rugby legend Gareth Edwards, for services to sport and to charity. There are CBEs for England rugby world cup winner Jonny Wilkinson; actors Chiwetel Ejiofor and Benedict Cumberbatch, and for the creator of Paddington, Michael Bond.
There are OBEs for actor Eddie Redmayne; actor and singer Michael Ball; footballer Frank Lampard; and cricketer James Anderson. There are also OBEs for broadcaster Nicky Campbell for his work as Patron of the British Association for Adoption and Fostering; for actor Martin Clunes for his services to drama and to charity; and for former rugby player Jonathan Davies, for his charitable service to people with cancer.
Find out more about the different types of honours and awards and how to nominate someone for an honour.
Young people
There are number of examples of young people giving selfless service or demonstrating significant achievement in the list. To add to the recognition of Natasha Lambert’s fundraising, there are BEMs for 25 year old Robert Sewell, who has already given over 2,200 hours of volunteering to Newham Police; and 25 year old Laura Bates, who campaigns against sexism and gender stereotyping. Among the MBEs are 23 year old wheelchair tennis champion Jordanne Whiley; and 27 year old fashion entrepreneur Jennifer Griffiths.
Watch Laura Bates, BEM, talk about the experience of being nominated.
Philanthropy
The Philanthropy Committee has delivered a broad range of significant recipients. There is a knighthood for 101 year old Naim Dangoor, for his extraordinarily generous philanthropy to a range of health, educational and religious charities. Other recommendations include a knighthood for Michael Davis, Chair of the Prime Minister’s Holocaust Commission, who has supported philanthropically a number of the commission’s international engagements; and a CBE for Roderick Brooks, who has been a huge benefactor to Manchester University and other charities.
Parliamentary
The Parliamentary and Political Service Committee, chaired by Lord Spicer, has recommended a knighthood for the Rt Hon Simon Burns, MP for Chelmsford; a knighthood for the Rt Hon Simon Hughes, lately MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark; a knighthood for Henry Angest, National Treasurer, Conservative Party; and a knighthood for Paul Kenny, General Secretary, GMB Union.
Other recommendations include an OBE for Duwayne Brooks, Liberal Democrat Councillor, who was with his friend Stephen Lawrence when he was murdered in April 1993.
Education
In total, about 11% of honours are for work in education. The Education Committee has recommended 30 headteachers in total, including a CBE for Diana Owen, Trustee and Chief Executive of the LEAD Academy Trust in Nottingham. Other awards in education include a knighthood for Frank McLoughlin, Principal, City and Islington College, and Chair, Commission on Adult Vocational Teaching and Learning.
Health
Health makes up 7% of all honours. There is a rich breadth of vocations recognised within the health sector, including 9 awards for nurses at MBE level. Awards in Health include a knighthood for Professor Munir Pirmohamed, Professor of Clinical Pharmacology, University of Liverpool; and a knighthood for Professor Ian Weller, Professor of Genitourinary Medicine, Windeyer Institute of Medical Sciences.
Industry and the economy
Industry and the economy make up 10% of this Honours list. Awards include a DBE for Dr Nemat Shafik, lately Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund; a knighthood for Gary Verity, Chief Executive, Welcome to Yorkshire; and a knighthood for Adrian White, for services to international trade and investment. The recommendations include OBEs for James Murray Wells, a former LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur and founder of the MyOptique Group; Atul Pathak, Managing Director of the Appt Corporation Ltd and one of the UK’s most successful franchise entrepreneurs; and Dr Andrew Salvesen, for services to entrepreneurship and philanthropic service in Scotland. There are MBEs for Zoe Jackson, an award winning young entrepreneur who founded the Living the Dream Performing Arts Company; and for Helen Dhaliwal, cofounder of Red Hot World Buffet.
Watch Sharmadean Reid, MBE, explain how she was nominated.
Science and technology
Science and technology make up 2% of the total. The awards include a DBE for Professor Anne Glover, lately Chief Scientific Adviser to the President of the European Commission; and a knighthood for Professor Harshad Bhadeshia, Tata Steel Professor of Metallurgy, University of Cambridge. There is also a BEM for 90 year old Donald Grant, who has supplied readings to the Met Office from his weather station in Dunbar for nearly 3 decades.
Law and order
In law and order, the awards include a Companion of Honour (CH) for Lord Woolf, for his service promoting the rule of law, human rights, prison reform and interfaith dialogue; a CBE for Lynne Owens, Chief Constable, Surrey Police; and a CBE for His Honour Judge Iain Hamilton, lately Senior Circuit Judge and Designated Family Judge for Manchester. The recommendations for state servants include a GCB (Knight Grand Cross) for Sir Nicholas Macpherson, Permanent Secretary, HM Treasury; a DCB for Una O’Brien, Permanent Secretary, Department of Health; a knighthood for Tom Jeffrey, lately Director General, Department for Education; and a knighthood for Bernard Gray, Chief of Defence Materiel, MOD.
Sport
Awards for Sport make up 5% of the total. In addition to the awards to Gareth Edwards, Jonny Wilkinson, Frank Lampard and James Anderson the awards include an OBE for 2 time world squash champion Nicholas Matthew; and MBEs for long distance runner Jo Pavey; boxing supermiddleweight champion Carl Froch; and for Arsenal Ladies footballer Casey Stoney.
Awards to grass roots sport include an MBE for Natasha Hart, Founder and Director of the Newham All Start Sports Academy, a basketball charity offering sporting opportunity to young people in one of London’s most deprived boroughs. There are also BEMs for David and Eileen Woodhead who have given voluntary service to fell running for over 3 decades, and have been instrumental in the development of many international athletes.
And finally, there is a BEM for 21 year old Katie Cutler, who set up a charitable fund raising over £300,000, and in so doing captured a spirit of real compassion, in response to the mugging and robbery of a disabled pensioner outside his home in Gateshead. Her fundraising has now been extended to other worthy causes in the area.