Queen's Birthday Honours: Covid community heroes among those recognised in Essex
Several people in our county have been given MBEs and British Empire medals
People across Essex who went above and beyond to serve their communities during the pandemic are among those recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours this year.
A man who helped to track down artwork stolen by the Nazis during WW2 is also on the list, as well as a man who founded a wedding price comparison website.
Who has been recognised in Essex?
Among those being honoured in Essex are:
Robert Lodge - Weeley Heath - MBE for services to veterans and their families:
Robert has helped lead the management, admin and fundraising of Red Cypher for over six years, providing support to veterans, serving personnel, and the families of those forom the 3rd Regiment Royal Horse Artillery.
His work has made a profound difference to the quality of life of beneficiaries, providing an immediate response to their calls for support, which can't be found elsewhere.
He told us about the moment he found out: "A great shock and quite emotional.
"It was a total surprise."
He said this recognition isn't just about him though: "Whilst I am the recipient of the MBE, it really reflects on all of those individuals I've been working with, and the special bond that we as veterans have with our serving regiment."
Mark Caldon - Chelmsford - MBE for services to cultural restoration: Mark is a member of the UK Spoliation Advisory Panel, which advises the government on whether artworks and objects kept at museums in the UK should be handed back to their rightful owners. Thousands of pieces of art were stolen from Jewish owners during the Nazi era between 1933 and 1945. Many have subsequently found their way into museums. Mark's expertise is often sought by experts in other countries as they try to return property stolen decades ago.
Cherry McKean - Halstead - MBE for services to Halstead during Covid-19: Formed the ‘Eco Colnes and Halstead Grass Roots Community Group’ to help her village go green. She also opened an eco-friendly refill store, offering low and zero waste products.
Sandra Colston - Colchester - MBE for services to music, charity and communities during Covid-19: She has been the musical director of the community choir Funky Voices for nearly 15 years. The choir help tackle loneliness, with many of its members living alone. The choir held online sessions during the pandemic.
Melissa Dark - Manningtree - MBE for services to policing: She was a core participant of the Pandemic Multi Agency Response Teams created in response to Covid-19, which offered a 24 hour response to sudden deaths in the community. She has also responded to a number of high profile incidents, including the Essex lorry deaths case.
Pranav Bhanot - Chigwell - MBE for services to the community in Chigwell: In 2017, he founded The Wedding Lawyer website, which is similar to MoneySavingExpert but allows visitors to compare prices offered by wedding providers. Since the start of the pandemic he has offered legal advice to couples to get refunds for cancelled weddings.
Tim Neobard - Rochford - BEM for services to the community in Rochford: At the start of the Covid-19 when PPE was in short supply, he put his technical background to use to manufacture and distribute over 12,000 face shields, free of charge, to those in need. He leads the ‘East Essex Hackspace’ project which has converted a former cricket pavilion into a community social space.
Brenda Ellis - Clacton - BEM for services to the community of Clacton: Chair of Community Voluntary Services Tendring which helps isolated elderly people living in the area. She also started a Christmas dinner day event for people living alone. Supported the creation of the Clacton Bereavement and Friendship Club.
Sonia Grantham - St Osyth - BEM for services to the community of St Osyth: As Chair of the Parish Council, she overseen a range of major improvements - including things like road repairs, pavement upgrades, new village infrastructure, new play areas, refreshed road layouts, street parking and upgrades to the village hall.
Sudath Leon Dias - Colchester - BEM for services to policing: He has volunteered over 2,200 hours in five years to assist the Mental Health Street Triage Team, which helps to reduce the number of people with serious mental health issues who need to spend time in police custody.
Roger James Pickett - Aveley - BEM for services to the community of Essex: He established the Fire Brigade Museums in 2006. His enthusiasm for the Fire Brigade’s heritage continued after he retired as an operational Firefighter, which motivated him to create the Essex Fire Museum to provide education and community engagement.
Janet Elizabeth Menell - Saffron Walden - BEM for services to the community in Uttlesford: She created the BuffyBus outreach service, which has benefitted more than 90,000 children and carers. As a community midwife for nearly fifty years she has delivered hundreds of babies and cared for many families in North Essex.
Anne Roberts - Uttlesford - BEM for charitable services to the community in Uttlesford: She has served on the Little Chesterford Parish Council and the Village Hall committee since 1993 and has led several major initiatives including obtaining Lottery funding to develop the village hall. She has led on major village events, from Jubilee celebrations to the village fete.
Derek Whitbread - Epping - BEM for services to the community in Epping:He has balanced his job with providing on-call fire cover, continually being available 24hrs, 7 days a week. He provides operational response to emergencies for the people of Essex giving more than 120 hours of cover a week for almost half a century - responding to 20,000 incidents.
George Johnson - Colchester - BEM for services to the community in Colchester during Covid-19:Stepped up to help his community during the pandemic. He signed up to the GoodSAM app, assisting people with help when needed. He volunteered at the GO4 café, a local café designed to help feed the community. He also helped to deliver food parcels to vulnerable families.
William Richard Mervyn Christopher Foyle DL - Malden - OBE for services to Publishing, to Aviation and to Charity.
Avnish Mitter Goyal - Billericay - CBE for =services to Social Care and to Philanthropy: Chair of Care England.