X-Nico

47 unusual facts about Order of the British Empire


1948 in archaeology

Maud Cunnington made CBE for services to archaeology, the first woman archaeologist to receive the honour.

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 Norman

Albert Norman MBE (1882 – 1964) was one of the founders and the first secretary of the Institute of Biomedical Science.

Angela Sarkis

Angela Sarkis CBE (b. 1955), was the Chief Executive of the Nurture Group Network, a charitable organisation which promotes and supports the development of specialist support for vulnerable children within mainstream education.

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 Samuel Allen

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

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.

Bate family

Jeff Bate's second wife, Thelma Florence Bate CBE, (3 August 1904 – 26 July 1984) was an Australian community leader and women's activist.

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.

Clarence Lionel Adcock

Adcock received a number of awards for his service, including the Distinguished Service Medal, Honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire and the Croix de Guerre avec palmes.

Coventry Telegraph

The foundation stone of its previous headquarters at 157 Corporation Street, Coventry, CV1 1FP, was laid by the then proprietor, Lord Iliffe G.B.E, on 21 November 1957.

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.

Diane Towler

Towler / Ford are MBE recipients and were inducted into the World Figure skating Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs in 1993.

E. Morris Miller

Edmund Morris Miller, CBE (1881 – 1964) was an Australian author, professor, and vice-chancellor of the University of Tasmania between 1933-1945.

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.

Frank Horwill

Frank J. Horwill MBE (19 June 1927 – 1 January 2012) was a UK Athletics senior level 4 coach most famous for founding the British Milers' Club (BMC) and for formulating the Five Pace Training Theory which is widely used for coaching middle-distance runners throughout the world.

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.

Frederick Kisch

Frederick Hermann Kisch CBE, CB, DSO (August 23, 1888 – April 7, 1943) was a decorated British Army officer and Zionist leader.

Gavin Long

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

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.

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 Bussey

Group Captain John Bussey, OBE (1895-1979) was in charge of Reconnassance for the British Royal Air Force during WWII.

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.

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).

Ken Woodward

Kenneth (Ken) Woodward is a holder of the OBE for work in health and safety, which he commenced following an industrial accident, and the first person to be awarded the medal for work in that field.

Laura Ashley

In 1975 Laura turned down the offer of an OBE (she was upset Bernard had not been offered one).

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".

May Moss

Alice "May" Moss, CBE (27 April 1869 – 18 July 1948) was an Australian welfare worker and women's rights activist.

Mirosław Vitali

Miroslaw (Mirek) Vitali, OBE (October 5, 1914 in Human, Ukraine – February 19, 1992 in London, England) was a physician specialising in treatment and care of amputees.

He was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1986 in recognition of his outstanding work helping British servicemen who had lost limbs in World War II.

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.

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).

Ponsonby Britt

Britt eventually supposedly became an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and was retained in the cartoon's closing credits as an in-joke.

Raymond Snoddy

Raymond Snoddy OBE (born 1946) is a British journalist, television presenter, author and media commentator.

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.

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.

Simon Richardson

It was announced on 31 December 2008 that Richardson was to be appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours "for services to Disabled Sport".

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.

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.

Thomas Kielinger

Thomas Kielinger OBE (born July 1940 in Danzig) is a German journalist, political commentator and author.

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.

Wentworth D'Arcy Uhr

His grandson, Clive Uhr, would become a noted radiologist and Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.


Archibald Salvidge

Sir Archibald Tutton James Salvidge KBE PC (5 August 1863 – 11 December 1928) was an English politician, most notable for securing the political dominance of the Conservative Party in Liverpool through the use of the Working Men's Conservative Association (WMCA), earning him the nickname "the king of Liverpool" (by Warden Chilcott, MP for Liverpool Walton).

Ards Forest Park

She was the wife of Lt. Col. Sir Pieter C. van B. Stewart-Bam, Kt., O.B.E., a South African soldier, politician and businessman whom she married in 1910.

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.

Arthur Colvin

The Honourable Colonel Arthur Edmund Colvin CBE MC MLC (24 April 1884 - 20 August 1966) was a member of New South Wales Legislative Council and a soldier, surgeon and physician.

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.

Claude Aurelius Elliott

Sir Claude Aurelius Elliott OBE, MA, (27 July 1888 - 21 November 1973) was Head Master of Eton College at Windsor in Berkshire, and was later Provost at the same school.

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.

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

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.

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.

Jean Robinson

Jean Robinson, CBE (8 December 1899 - 5 November 1986) was the first female mayor of Blackpool, Lancashire from 1968-1969.

Jim Leighton

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

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 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.

Mary Coulshed

She was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for her services to the British Army and the WRAC in the 1953 Coronation Honours.

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.

Michael Ogio

Sir Michael Ogio, GCMG, CBE (born 7 July 1942) is the ninth and current Governor-General of Papua New Guinea.

Missing People

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

Montagu Stopford

In December 1944 he and his fellow corps commanders Christison and Scoones were knighted and invested as KBE by the viceroy Lord Wavell at a ceremony at Imphal in front of the Scottish, Gurkha and Punjab regiments.

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.

Patsy Adam-Smith

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

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 James Clayton

Sir Robert James Clayton CBE, (30 October 1915, Fulham, London - 20 June 1998, Brent, Middlesex, UK) electronics engineer, was notable in the area of defense and industrial electronics.

Single-wire earth return

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

Stokes mortar

The Stokes mortar was a British trench mortar invented by Sir Wilfred Stokes KBE that was issued to the British, Commonwealth and U.S. armies, as well as the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps (CEP), during the latter half of the First World War.

Tuʻipelehake

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

Walter Coutts

Sir Walter Fleming Coutts, KCMG, MBE (1912–1988) was a British colonial administrator and was Uganda's last Governor before independence, from 1961–1962.

War Widows Association of Great Britain

In the 2003 New Year Honours, Mary Brailsford of Chesterfield, Derbyshire was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) "for services to the War Widows Association of Great Britain".

Wilfrid Foster

Major Wilfrid Lionel Foster CBE DSO (2 December 1874 – 22 March 1958) was an English cricketer: a right-handed batsman who played for Worcestershire County Cricket Club in their early years in first-class cricket.

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.