Queen’s Jubilee Birthday Honours List 2022: All those honoured in Cambridgeshire as Prof Clare Grey is made a dame
The Queen’s Jubilee Birthday Honours List 2022 has been revealed - and Cambridgeshire is well represented on it.
Academics in Cambridge have been rewarded for work in fields including cancer research, battery technology and physics teaching, while community stalwarts serving the Royal British Legion, helping those with hearing impairments and dedicated to nursing also receive honours.
Below, we feature all those honoured from Cambridgeshire.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “This historic Platinum Jubilee is not only a celebration of the monarch but of the qualities she possesses. The honours she confers this week reflect many of those qualities that have been invaluable from all different walks of life and to communities across the UK.
“I pay tribute to all of this year’s winners. Their stories of courage and compassion are an inspiration to us all.”
Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)
Prof Clare Grey, the Geoffrey Moorhouse-Gibson and Royal Society professor of chemistry at the University of Cambridge, is made a dame for services to science.
Prof Grey, from Cambridge, is a world leader in battery materials and founder of the company Nyobolt.
She studies rechargeable batteries, including lithium and sodium ion batteries, to improve their charging and discharging speeds, and their storage capacity, to meet the demand in transport applications, for storage and load-levelling on the electrical grid.
Nyobolt is a spin-out based on the work of Prof Grey and Sai Shivareddy, and exclusively licensed from the university. It is focused on sustainable, high-power, ultra fast-charging Li-ion batteries, with the aim of creating recyclable, long-lasting batteries that could, for example, enable a car to be charged in minutes not hours.
She said: “I am delighted that my contributions to the general field of energy materials have been honoured in this way. I also hope that this recognition highlights how important fundamental science is to performing the underpinning work that will help the world transition to a more sustainable society - and that perhaps it may motivate others here in Cambridge, the UK and more globally. And a huge thanks to all those who have worked with me over the years.”
Knights Batchelor
Pascal Soriot, chief executive of Cambridge-headquartered biopharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca, receives a knighthood for services to UK life sciences and leadership in the global response to the Covid pandemic.
He said: “I am truly humbled by this recognition. Growing up in France, I had many dreams and hopes for the future, but I never thought I would receive a knighthood from Her Majesty the Queen. As an Australian citizen it is a great privilege to receive this award and an honour to work with so many outstanding people around the world dedicated to following the science in order to bring medicines to patients. This recognition is also theirs and I would like to thank each of them for their commitment to our mission. I am also grateful to my family for their support in enabling me to pursue a career doing what I love.”
Leif Johansson, AstraZeneca chair, said: “I am delighted for Pascal, his family, and all those at AstraZeneca with this recognition of his remarkable contribution to UK life sciences and response to the pandemic. His personal dedication to drive advances for patients, to establish AstraZeneca as a leading scientific company, and to develop the people who work alongside him, make this a fitting honour. I know all of the team will join me and many others in the UK, and around the world, in congratulating Pascal on this well-deserved honour as we also celebrate Her Majesty’s historic jubilee this year.”
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
Una Cleminson, national chair of the Royal British Legion, is honoured for voluntary services to the Royal British Legion and to veterans.
Una, from Melbourn, who already has a British Empire Medal to her name, was elected the charity’s first female chair in 2019 after serving three years as the legion’s national vice-chairman.
Una started collecting for the Poppy Appeal at the age of 16. She was aware of the Royal British Legion’s welfare work, especially at that time with First World War veterans, and subsequently joined the organisation’s membership in the 1970s.
During her military career Una was a major in the Territorial Army’s unit field hospital and worked for 18 years as a sister at the Hospice of St Francis in Berkhamsted.
Prof Mary Ryan, armourers and brasiers' chair in materials science at the Department of Materials, Imperial College London, is honoured for services to education and to materials science and engineering. (Cambridge, Cambridgeshire)
Prof Ryan, from Cambridge, joined Imperial College London in 1998 from Brookhaven National Laboratory in the US where she was assistant scientist in the Materials-Environment Interactions Group.
She graduated from Manchester University with a joint honours degree in mathematics and physics and was then awarded a PhD in materials science, carrying out early work with in situ electrochemical STM to study passivation phenomena in binary alloy systems.
She leads a large interdisciplinary group focused on understanding nanoscale materials, and nanoscale interfaces in and between materials and their environments.
Prof Ryan was elected fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2015 and is a fellow IoM3and of the Institute of Corrosion.
Prof Stephen Young, professor of information engineering in the Information Engineering Division at Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge, is honoured for services to software engineering.
Prof Young, from Cambridge, received a BA in electrical sciences from the University of Cambridge in 1973 and a PhD in speech processing in 1978.
He held lectureships at both Manchester University and the University of Cambridge before being elected to the chair of information engineering at Cambridge in 1994. He was a co-founder and technical director of Entropic Ltd from 1995 until 1999, when the company was taken over by Microsoft.
After a short period as an architect at Microsoft, Orof Young returned full-time to the university in January 2001. During 2001 through to 2004, he served as chair of the School of Technology and member of the University General Board.
Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
Dr Raghib Ali, consultant in acute medicine at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust and senior clinical research associate in epidemiology at the University of Cambridge, is honoured for services to the NHS and to the Covid-19 response
Dr Ali, from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, said: "I am delighted to have been recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours for my clinical duties as a frontline NHS doctor and also my work helping us to understand the causes of the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on ethnic minorities; reducing those disparities and improving vaccine uptake.
“I would never have imagined that one day I would be receiving such an award - as a child on free school meals attending one of the worst performing primary schools in the country, but chances of going to Cambridge and becoming a doctor were almost zero and so I am very grateful for the opportunities I have had in my career to date and I hope this award will inspire children and young people across the country who find themselves in similarly difficult circumstances."
Prof Rebecca Fitzgerald, director of the Early Cancer Institute at the University of Cambridge, is made an OBE for services to cancer research.
Prof Fitzgerald, from Cambridge, said: “It is an exciting but long path from the seed of an idea through to implementation of a new diagnostic test called Cytosponge in the NHS and receiving this award is an honour and a tremendous boost for me and the whole team who continue to strive to improve the early diagnosis of cancer.”
The cytosponge is a “sponge on a string” pill that, compared with routine GP care, detects 10 times more cases of Barrett’s oesophagus - a condition that can sometimes lead to oesophageal cancer.
It consists of a mesh sphere on a string inside a capsule. The capsule is swallowed by the patient and dissolves in the stomach allowing the sponge to expand. The sponge is then withdrawn from the stomach, sampling cells from the surface of the oesophagus. The cells and biomarkers associated with Barrett’s oesophagus are then analysed using a pathology platform. Now available for use in the NHS, it is being commercialised by the company Cyted.
Dr Lisa Jardine-Wright, co-founder of Isaac Physics, is honoured for services to education.
Isaac Physics is a free physics education platform for teachers and students that can be used in the classroom, for homework or revision.
Dr Jardine-Wright, from St Neots, said: “I am completely stunned to have been awarded an OBE. It means a great deal to me as it recognises the importance of physics education and the impact that the Isaac Physics project has made.
“I feel energised to keep innovating and to do more to raise the profile of physics. I am extremely fortunate to work with highly talented and dedicated people.
“In particular, I would like to acknowledge the late Prof Mark Warner, an inspirational physicist who co-founded Isaac Physics with me - also, Prof Alastair Beresford and Prof Andrew Rice, whose technological vision for the Isaac platform has encouraged nearly 100 million question attempts by teachers and students thus far.”
Prof Simon Peyton Jones, chair of Computing At School and National Centre for Computing Education, is made an OBE for services to education and to computer science.
Computing at School brings together teachers, academics and industry professionals to help ensure children receive a world-class computing education, by providing support, resources and an online and offline community. The National Centre for Computing Education is a government-funded initiative, offering teacher training and resources for computer science.
Prof Jones, from Cambridge, worked as principal researcher at Microsoft Research Cambridge, from 1998 to 2021, and was a key contributor to the design of the Haskell programming language and co-creator of the C-- programming language. He has since joined Epic Games.
Scott Weavers-Wright is honoured for services to technology and to retail e-commerce entrepreneurship.
Scott, from Ufford, near Peterborough, is co-founder of Kiddicare.com and created the monetisation platform Elevaate.com. Both were acquired for more than $150m.
He also created the Haatch Brand, including the Haatch Angel & Ventures LLP funds. He has made more than 82 investments into 54 companies, which have generated nearly 2,000 highly skill engineering jobs in the UK.
Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
Sandra Burns, chief executive of Disability Peterborough, is honoured for services to people with disabilities in her home city of Peterborough.
Michael Sly, chairman of English Mustard Growers, from Peterborough, is honoured for services to agriculture in East Anglia.
Edward Walker, from Peterborough, founder and chief executive of Hope into Action, is honoured for services to tackling homelessness.
Dr Adrian Weller, board member of the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation - a government body - and senior research fellow at the University of Cambridge’s Department of Engineering, and a researcher at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, is honoured for services to digital innovation.
Dr Weller, from London, said: “I am delighted to receive this honour, acknowledging the incredible work taking place across the AI ecosystem. I have been fortunate to work with many inspiring colleagues from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines at Cambridge, Turing, CDEI and beyond.
“I hope I can encourage more people to get involved as we try together to design, develop and deploy trustworthy technologies which benefit individuals and society.”
Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM)
Roger Hill, a volunteer with Cambridgeshire Hearing Help, receives his British Empire Medal for services to people with hearing impairments in Cambridgeshire, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Roger, from Ely, is a former chairman the charity, which recently merged with the Cambridgeshire Deaf Association to create the go-to place for support for anyone with deafness or hearing loss in Cambridgeshire.
Roger joined the charity as a volunteer in 2009 and came out of retirement to run it during the pandemic.
He said: “It is a great honour to receive the British Empire Medal in recognition of the wonderful work of the volunteers and staff of Cambridgeshire Hearing Help who maintained NHS hearing aids during the Covid pandemic.
“After having to close 42 community-based clinics at the beginning of lockdown our staff and volunteers opened a telephone/online battery replacement service followed by a number of remote Covid-safe maintenance centres, enabling our 6,500 isolated hearing-impaired elderly users across Cambridgeshire to stay connected throughout the pandemic.”
Andrew Palmer, the chief executive of the Cambridgeshire Deaf Association, which now encompasses Cambridgeshire Hearing Help, said: “I had the pleasure of working alongside Roger during Covid, in particular through the first lockdown when fear and uncertainty spread though vulnerable communities.
“Roger, a volunteer and chair of Hearing Help at the time, stepped up to lead the organisation through a very challenging time and ensure that people with hearing loss could continue to receive the support they needed to maintain their connections to the outside world, through their hearing aids. He took on a more than full-time job.
“Many of the people we support had to shield at that time and the risks to mental health issues through isolation were very real. The importance of Roger’s work in ensuring people could keep their connections to friends and family via proper functioning hearing aids cannot be understated.
“It is because of people like Roger that communities could be helped to stay safe, supported and informed through that difficult time and this honour is a fitting way to mark his dedication to the people of Cambridgeshire.”
Cambridgeshire Deaf Association helps combat isolation, improve health and give equal access for older people with hearing loss. Visit https://cambsdeaf.org.
Paul Ray, from Meldreth, is honoured for services to the community in Cambridgeshire.
Joseph Somers, revenue inspector at Stagecoach East, from Peterborough, is honoured for services to public transport and to the community in Peterborough.
Anne Trotter, assistant director of education and standards, at the Nursing and Midwifery Council, is honoured for services to public health.
Anne, from Newton, near Cambridge, said: “I’m humbled to receive this honour, having been a registered nurse for over four decades. Over these years I’ve had the privilege of supporting and caring for people when they need it most, as well as educating nursing and midwifery professionals.
“And now at the NMC it’s a privilege to have led on new standards for nursing and midwifery professionals, which will benefit people for years to come.”
Sir David Warren, council chair at the NMC, said: “Since joining as chair of the council, I’ve been so impressed by the incredible work all our nursing and midwifery professionals do. That’s why I’m delighted that so many people, including some of our key partners, have been recognised for their contributions to health and social care.
“I’m especially delighted for Anne Trotter, who has been recognised for four decades’ service to people’s health and wellbeing, including the last 12 years here at the NMC. On behalf of our council, I’d like to send our thanks and congratulations to Anne and all of this year’s honourees.”
National figures
Included in the honours list are three Companions of Honour - of which there are only 65 recipients at any time. These are author Sir Salman Rushdie, for his services to literature, Sir Quentin Blake, for services to his illustration, and to Dame Marina Warner, for her services to the humanities.
Famous figures from the world of sport honoured include former footballer and commentator Rio Ferdinand, who receives an OBE for his activism and charity work, while cricketer Moeen Ali is made an MBE, as has Welsh International footballer Gareth Bale for services to football and charity, and Liverpool footballer James Milner, who is honoured for the work of his foundation
Ian Rankin receives a knighthood for services to literature and charity while actor Damian Lewis receives a CBE for services to drama and charity for initiating the campaign to raise £1million to provide food for NHS workers throughout Covid-19.
Of the 1,134 people who receive an award:
- 1,002 candidates have been selected at BEM, MBE and OBE level:
- 673 (59.3 per cent) of the recipients are people who have undertaken outstanding work in their communities either in a voluntary or paid capacity;
- 584 women are recognised in the List, representing 51.5 per cent of the total
- 13.3 per cent of the successful candidates come from an ethnic minority background:
- 9.3 per cent are disabled or have a long-term health condition;
- 24.3 per cent of recipients considered themselves to come from a lower socio-economic background; and
- 4.6 per cent of recipients are LGBT.
Read more
Queen’s New Year Honours 2022: All those honoured in Cambridgeshire as William Russell is knighted
Queen’s New Year Honours 2022: Thriplow resident William Russell knighted
New Year Honours 2022: Two AstraZeneca employees made OBEs for their work on the Covid-19 response
Illumina’s Dr David Bentley made OBE in New Year Honours 2022 for genomics expertise
Queen’s Birthday Honours 2021: Eight AstraZeneca staff honoured for work during Covid-19 pandemic
Queen’s New Year Honours 2022: Thriplow resident William Russell knighted
