THE KING’S first birthday honours list includes charity workers, actors and scientists from Reading and Wokingham.
The list features people who have contributed significant amounts of service to their local communities and the country as a whole. Many have been awarded for voluntary work.
Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said: “This year’s honours list is a testament to ordinary people who have demonstrated extraordinary community spirit, and I pay tribute to all those from the South East who have been recognised today.
“Our honours system has long been a way of recognising people who make an incredible contribution to life in Britain and beyond.”
Pirates of the Caribbean star Winston Ellis has been awarded an MBE for charitable services to ethnic minority communities.
He is an ambassador to the BAME Health Collaborative, and is a strong supporter of Pride of Reading Awards.
An OBE has been awarded to Reading-based forensic scientist Dr Susan Pope.
She is the principal of Forensic Services, and her award is for her services to forensic science and to the criminal justice system.
Also receiving an OBE is Dr Edward Rowland. He was a medical director of St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London, and received his honour for services to cardiology.
The deputy leader of Wokingham Borough Council, Cllr Prue Bray, is the recipient of an MBE.
The Winnersh politician has been active in politics since the 1990s. She moved to Winnersh in May 1989, and was elected to Winnersh Parish Council in May 1995, and served as the Wokingham Liberal Democrat chair between 1997 and 2000.
She was elected to Wokingham District Council in 2000, and carried on as the council became the borough council.
As if that wasn’t enough, she has stood as the Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Wokingham in the 2005 and 2010 general elections. She was also a finalist in the 1990 series of Channel 4 game show Fifteen To One.
An MBE has also gone to Emma Cantrell, the founder and CEO of First Days Children’s Charity. This is awarded for her services to children and vulnerable people in Wokingham.
She said: “We don’t do this work for recognition, but if more people like me can be recognised in this way then that would be brilliant for the communities we serve.”
Lisa Ashford is the director and CEO of Ethex, and is based in Reading. She has been awarded an MBE for her services to impact investment.
Dr Stewart Harding received an MBE for services to heritage and park conservation, through his role as co-founder of Parks Agency, and director of GreenSpace.
Another Reading-based man, Robert Naish, is awarded the MBE for his services to the canal network through his work as a protector of the Canal and River Trust.
Organic farmer Iain Tolhurst, who runs Tolhurst Organic in Whitchurch, has been given an MBE for his services to agriculture.
An MBE has also been awarded to Jane Stanford-Beale, the CEO of Autism Berkshire for her services to young people with autism and their families.
A BEM has been awarded to Reading-based Jaime Thurston, the founder of kindness charity 52 Lives.
There is a BEM for Clive Waterman for his services to Reading Male Voice Choir.
And Vickie Robertson, the founder and chief executive of Wokingham-based Kaleidoscopic UK has been awarded the BEM for services to victims of domestic violence and to refugees.
