X-Nico

43 unusual facts about Order of the British Empire


A Week in December

A pickle millionaire enlists the help of R. Tranter, novelist and critic, to prepare for his meeting with the Queen when he receives his OBE.

Albert Ernest Sims

Albert Ernest (George) Sims (OBE, RVO), LRAM, ARCM (1896–1981) was a British composer, conductor and music director (Wing Commander) for The Central Band of H.M. Royal Air Force.

Arthur Samuel Allen

Major General Arthur Samuel "Tubby" Allen CB CBE DSO VD (10 March 1894 – 25 January 1959) was an Australian soldier.

Lesser appointments followed, but in October 1944, Blamey recommended Allen be made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE), although Allen was never appointed.

Baden-Powell grave

The grave of Lieutenant-General The 1st Baron Baden-Powell and his wife, Olave, Baroness Baden-Powell, G.B.E., are in Nyeri in Central Province, Kenya, near Mount Kenya.

Bertie Clarke

Dr Carlos Bertram (Bertie) Clarke, OBE (7 April 1918, Lakes Folly, Cats Castle, St Michael, Barbados – 14 October 1993, Putney, London, England) was a West Indian cricketer who played in three Tests in 1939.

Bob Roll

Roll continues to enjoy riding road and mountain bicycles for recreation, and is a member of the veteran cable television broadcasting team (along with Phil Liggett, MBE and Paul Sherwen) who serve as road cycling expert-commentators for the NBC Sports Network cable network's coverage of the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, Paris–Roubaix, Tour of California, and other international cycling road races.

Clan Arbuthnott

The present Viscount of Arbuthnott and chief of Clan Arbuthnott has been awarded both the Distinguished Service Cross and the Order of the British Empire.

David Narey

David Narey, MBE (born 12 June 1956 in Dundee) is a former Scottish international footballer, who spent 21 years with Dundee United, coinciding with United's most successful era, under the management of Jim McLean.

Eberhard Burger

He was granted the Großen Bundesverdienstkreuz on 7 September 2007, then made an OBE in November 2007 "in recognition of his contributions to the reconstruction of the Frauenkirche and his significant contribution to the reconciliation of the British and German peoples in this project".

Franca Arena

She was offered the Order of the British Empire for services to migrants, but refused the honour; in 1980 she accepted the Order of Australia for services to ethnic groups.

Freddie Young

Freddie Young OBE, BSC (9 October 1902 - 1 December 1998), (sometimes credited as Frederick A. Young) was one of Britain's most distinguished and influential cinematographers.

Gavin Long

Long was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1953 for his services as editor of the official history.

Jim Leighton

James "Jim" Leighton MBE (born 24 July 1958 in Johnstone, Renfrewshire) is a Scottish former football goalkeeper.

Jim Leishman

In the Queen's Birthday Honours 2007, Leishman was appointed as a member of the Order of the British Empire for 'services to sport'.

John Greig

Greig was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) on 15 November 1977.

John P. McConnell

His decorations include the Army Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, Air Force Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, Legion of Merit with three oak leaf clusters, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Air Medal, and numerous foreign awards, including Commander of the Order of the British Empire and the Legion of Honor - Degree of Commandeur (France).

Laurence Henry Hicks

Laurence Henry Hicks (1912-1997), OBE, was an English-born military bandmaster and composer.

On 1 January 1963 he was appointed to The Order of the British Empire – Officer (Military) with the citation, "For service as Director of Music with the RAAF".

Lawrence Foanaota

In 2009, the Queen of the Solomon Islands, Elizabeth II, appointed him Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for "services to the National Museum and to the community".

Missing People

In 1996 Mary Asprey and Janet Newman were honoured for their services to charity with OBEs.

Parveen Kumar

Parveen June Kumar CBE is a British doctor who served as President of the British Medical Association in 2006, and of the Royal Society of Medicine from 2010 to 2012.

Pato Kakaraya

Sir Pato Kakaraya, KBE, is a Papua New Guinea politician and Cabinet Minister.

Paul McStay

Paul Michael Lyons McStay OBE, nicknamed the Maestro (born 22 October 1964, Hamilton), is a former football player who spent his entire career with Scottish team Celtic F.C., making his debut in 1982 and retiring in 1997.

Philip Vian

Despite this, Vian received a personal letter of congratulation from Winston Churchill and he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE).

Quintiles

Quintiles was founded in 1982 by Dennis Gillings, Ph.D., CBE, then a professor of biostatistics at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Robert Merrill Lee

In addition to various awards and decorations from other U.S. allies, he wears the French Legion of Honor in the grade of Commander and the Croix de Guerre with Palm; the Luxembourg Order of Merit of Adolph of Nassau, Degree of Commander with Crown; the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Degree of Honorary Commander; and the Korean Order of Military Merit, Taeguk, with silver star.

General Robert Merrill Lee CBE (April 13, 1909 – June 29, 2003) was the air deputy to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, with the responsibility of assisting SACEUR in developing, training and employing NATO combat forces for the defense of allied Europe.

Robert Wesley Colglazier, Jr.

His personal decorations included the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Order of the British Empire, French Legion of Honor and French Croix de Guerre.

Robin Duval

On retirement from the BBFC he was made a C.B.E. (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2005 Queen's New Years Honours List for his services to the film industry.

Roy Kettle

Leroy Richard Arthur "Roy" Kettle OBE (born 1949) is a retired United Kingdom civil servant who, among many other achievements, was one of the principal architects of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

Shiggy Konno

Konno-san, was awarded an OBE in 1985 by Queen Elizabeth II, for his services to rugby, and also for helping improve Anglo-Japanese relations.

Specsavers

The co-founder of Specsavers, Mary Perkins, was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in 2007 in recognition of her services to business and the community in Guernsey.

Stanley Toyne

Toyne's nephew, Herbert Hake OBE represented Hampshire and Cambridge University in first-class cricket.

Stefan Skarbek

His mother is the bestselling author Marjorie Wallace who was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire for founding the charity SANE.

Stephen Weir

He led his new command during its crossing of the Lamone River and at the end of the year was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his work in Italy.

The Alexander Brothers

In recognition of their contributions to the world of music, they received MBEs from the Queen in the 2005 New Year Honours List.

Theodore McEvoy

Air Chief Marshal Sir Theodore Neuman McEvoy KCB CBE RAF (21 November 1904 – 19 September 1991) was a senior Royal Air Force officer during World War II who held high command in the 1950s and early 1960s.

Tom Stott

Tom Cleave Stott CBE (6 June 1899-21 October 1976) spent 37 years as an independent member of the South Australian House of Assembly, serving as Speaker of the House from 1962 to 1965 and 1968 to 1970.

Trevor Harrison

In 2001, The Archers 50th anniversary year, he was made an MBE for his services to radio drama, particularly for his role in The Archers.

Tuʻipelehake

From a non-traditional side, he was honoured with the CBE.

Twyford railway station

In 2005 Norman Topson, the station master for 16 years and local rail worker for 43 years, was awarded an MBE for services to the railway industry and community.

William J. McCormack

He is the son of a British Colonial Police colonel who was decorated with an MBE by the King for his work with prison reform and children's polio.


Alfred Brian Palmer

Alfred Brian Palmer MBE, DSC (27 March 1899 Redfern, New South Wales – 4 July 1993 Clearwater, Florida) was a Royal Navy Reserve captain and near the end of his career was the commander of the shore base HMS Furneaux in Brisbane.

Anne Lucas

Anne Shirley Lucas CBE (born c. 1951) is an Australian actress, best known for her roles on television as Eve Turner (later Steele) in The Young Doctors and Faye Quin in Prisoner.

Arthur Blackburn

Brigadier Arthur Seaforth Blackburn VC, CMG, CBE, ED (25 November 1892 – 24 November 1960) was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.

Blake Pelly

Blake Raymond Pelly OBE (31 May 1907, Buckley, Flintshire - 16 October 1990, Sydney) was an Australian air force officer, politician and businessman, who represented the Liberal Party of Australia in New South Wales Parliament.

Bronwyn Hill

Bronwyn Hill CBE (born 1960) is a British civil servant, who currently serves as the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Charles Style

Vice Admiral Charles Style CBE (born 1954) is a former Royal Navy officer and a former Commandant of the Royal College of Defence Studies.

Chris Houlding

During 2004-5 he completed a course in conducting at the RNCM to gain further experience under the watchful eye of Mark Elder CBE.

Deborah Bull

She has been awarded Honorary Doctorates by University of Derby (1998), Sheffield Hallam University (2001), Kent University (2010) and the Open University (2005) and was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1999 Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Dorothy Garrod

Dorothy Annie Elizabeth Garrod CBE, FBA (5 May 1892 – 18 December 1968) was a British archaeologist who was the first woman to hold an Oxbridge chair, partly through her pioneering work on the Palaeolithic period.

Edwin Herbert, Baron Tangley

Invested as a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, he was created Baron Tangley, of Blackheath in the County of Surrey on 22 January 1964.

Elmer J. Rogers, Jr.

His foreign decorations include the Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Croix de Guerre with Palm (French), Pilots Citation, Royal Yugoslavian Air Force, the Order of the White Elephant, 2nd Class (Thailand), the Ulchi Distinguished Military Service Medal with Gold Star (Republic of Korea), the Order of the Rising Sun (Japan), and the Military Order of Taeguk (Korea).

Gerard Basset

Gerard Francis Claude Basset OBE, MS, MW, MBA, is the owner with his wife, Nina, of Hotel Terravina, a New Forest Hotel near Southampton in Hampshire, United Kingdom.

Greg Haddrick

Haddrick is the younger child and only son of actor Ron Haddrick AM MBE.

H. J. Heinz II

In 1979, Queen Elizabeth II made Heinz an Honorary Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, citing him "for significant contribution in the furtherance of British-American relationships, especially in the cultural, educational and economic fields."

Hardy N. Ganong

Major-General Hardy Nelson Ganong CBE, EDV (Apr 18, 1890 - February 24, 1963) was a Canadian sportsman and a military commander who served in both World War I and II.

Ganong was awarded the Efficiency Decoration for his years of voluntary military service and in 1944 was made a commander of the Order of the British Empire.

Harold Bowden

Sir Harold Bowden, 2nd Baronet, GBE (9 July 1880 – 24 August 1960), was the chairman and chief executive of the Raleigh Bicycle Company and Sturmey-Archer Ltd from his father's death in 1921 until his own retirement in 1938.

Harold Wilson bibliography

James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was one of the most prominent British politicians of the 20th century.

Henry A. Schade

Additionally, the Government of Great Britain made Schade an Honorary Officer of the Military Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

Irene Curzon, 2nd Baroness Ravensdale

Mary Irene Curzon, Baroness Ravensdale, CBE (20 January 1896 – 9 February 1966) was the eldest child of George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston and Mary Victoria Leiter, a daughter of Levi Ziegler Leiter.

Jim Poston

James "Jim" Poston, CBE (19 June 1945 – 13 October 2007) was a British diplomat who was Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands from 2002 to 2005.

John Boot, 2nd Baron Trent

John Campbell Boot, 2nd Baron Trent KBE (19 January 1889–8 March 1956) was the son of the Jesse Boot who turned the Boots Company, founded by his father John Boot, into a major national company.

John Greig

John Greig MBE (born 11 September 1942 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish former professional football player who, despite his boyhood allegiance to hometown team Heart of Midlothian, spent his entire career in Glasgow with Rangers as a player, manager and director.

John Moores, Jr.

His older sister Betty Suenson-Taylor, The Dowager Lady Grantchester, who married her husband Kenneth Bent Suenson-Taylor, 2nd Baron Grantchester, his younger brother Sir Peter Moores, CBE, DL and younger sister Janitha Moores.

Jon Moynihan

Jon Moynihan, OBE (born 21 June 1948) is the former Executive Chairman of PA Consulting Group, the employee-owned firm of over 2,000 people, specialising in management and IT consulting, technology and innovation.

Jonathan Woodcock

He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2008 Birthday Honours.

Landis Gores

By the time he completed active duty he had been awarded both the Legion of Merit and the Order of the British Empire.

Margaret Stones

Elsie Margaret Stones AM, MBE (born 28 August 1920 at Colac, Victoria) is an Australian botanical illustrator.

Margaret Winifred Vowles

Edward Oscar Pearce (12/9/1885 - 31/8/1963) awarded an Order of the British Empire (military) in 1919 whilst a Captain (acting Major) in the Royal Engineers.

Melvill Jones

Sir Bennett Melvill Jones, Kt., CBE, AFC, FRS (28 January 1887 – 31 October 1975) was Francis Mond Professor of Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Cambridge from 1919 to 1952.

Muhammad Faiyaz Ali Khan

Nawab Sir Muhammad Faiyaz Ali Khan Bahadur, the Nawab of Pahasu, GBE, KCSI, KCIE, KCVO, MBE; (1851–1922) was a member of Governor General' Council of the United Provinces and Member of the Legislative council of United Provinces.

Neil Cossons

Sir Neil Cossons OBE FSA FMA FRGS (born 15 January 1939) is Pro-Provost and Chairman of Council of the Royal College of Art, of which he has been a Governor since 1989.

Niall FitzGerald

Niall FitzGerald, KBE (born 13 September 1945 in County Sligo) is an Irish businessman.

Oliver Poole, 1st Baron Poole

Oliver Brian Sanderson Poole, 1st Baron Poole CBE, TD, PC (11 August 1911-28 January 1993), was a British Conservative politician, soldier and businessman.

Patsy Adam-Smith

Patricia Jean "Patsy" Adam-Smith AO, OBE (31 May 1924 – 20 September 2001) was an Australian author, historian and servicewoman.

Ralph Allwood

Ralph Allwood, MBE (born 1950) was the Precentor and Director of Music at Eton College in the UK until September 2011.

Rob Kell

John Robert ("Rob") Kell, CBE (1902 - 1983) was an English civil engineer with particular expertise in the field of heating, ventilation and air conditioning.

Rosalinde Hurley

Dame Rosalinde Hurley, Mrs. Gortvai, DBE, FRC, FRCPath, FRCOG (30 December 1929 – 30 June 2004) was knighted by the British government for her services to medicine, science and law.

Roslyn Philp

Sir Roslyn Foster Bowie Philp KBE (27 July 1895 – 19 March 1965) was appointed as a judge to the Supreme Court of Queensland, which is the highest ranking court in the Australian State of Queensland.

Sibyl Hathaway

On the 400th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth I's grant of charter to Sark's first seigneur, Hellier de Carteret, Hathaway was made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire at the Buckingham Palace.

Single-wire earth return

Lloyd Mandeno OBE (1888-1973) fully developed SWER in New Zealand around 1925 for rural electrification.

Vic Renalson

Renalson was a finalist in the ABC Sportsman of the Year award in 1968, and became a member of the Order of the British Empire in 1973 for services to sport and the community.