Hannah Walton-Hughes
The New Years Honours list has seen a wide range of individuals awarded Knighthoods and Dames, from medical advisors, to actors and athletes. Impact’s Hannah Walton-Hughes discusses the awardees, and the work they have done to deserve such a prestigious title.
On New Year’s Eve, a large number of well-known names were listed among the New Year Honours List.
the age range of recipients was vast
Most of the recipients were appointed by the PM’s office, but one title, the Order of the Garter, was a ‘royal appointment’ from Her Majesty the Queen. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair received this royal award for his services.
Blair said that he was ‘deeply grateful to Her Majesty the Queen’, and that it was an ‘immense honour’.
The age range of recipients was vast this year, with the oldest being 102-year-old Harry Lewis, who gained an OBE in recognition of his work as part of the Magic Circle. On the other end of the spectrum, there was Tobias Weller, 11, who received a BEM for charity fundraising. Weller suffers from autism and cerebral palsy, and is the youngest ever recipient of this award.
Two medical advisors to the government were recognised with a Knighthood; Dr Chris Whitty, who is the UK’s Chief Medical Advisor, highly involved with ‘fronting TV campaigns’ in relation to Covid 19, and Jonathan Van Tam, the deputy Chief Medical Officer, who is famous for his engaging part in televised news conferences. He is also a University of Nottingham alumni.
We’re so proud to celebrate three academic colleagues today in the New Year Honours. ?
— Uni of Nottingham #WeAreUoN (@UniofNottingham) January 1, 2022
Professor Jonathan Van-Tam will receive a knighthood, Professor Robert Mokaya and Professor @TonyAvery1 will each receive an OBE.
Read more online at https://t.co/8meceq7up2#WeAreUoN pic.twitter.com/TM9YfhW82a
The rest of the awards went to people from a wide variety of professions, including actors and actresses, such as Vanessa Redgrave and Joanna Lumley, both of whom have become Dames. Daniel Craig, the famous 007, received the same award as his fictional counterpart: the Order of St Michael and St George, for services to film and theatre.
Tom Daley received an OBE for his services to diving, LGBTQ+ rights and charity. At the same time, his diving partner, Matty Lee received an MBE. Memorably, a husband and wife team, Jason and Laura Kenny, became a Dame and a Knight.
the New Years Honours list has been extremely inclusive and diverse
Other recipients include Paralympians Kadeena Cox, Hannah Cockroft, and Hannah Russel, England men’s football manager Gareth Southgate, and Coronation Street’s Cherylee Houston, among many more.
The New Years Honours list has been extremely inclusive and diverse this year. 47.9% of the recipients were female. 15.1% were from an ethnic minority background.
It was a memorable night, with over 1,200 names on the main UK New Year Honours list, which includes all of the awards listed above and more.
Hannah Walton-Hughes
Featured image courtesy of Pablo Fernandez via Flickr. Image licence found here. No changes were made to this image.
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