Here are the stories of the North East people who have received awards in this year's King's Birthday Honours list.
They have been applauded for going above and beyond, whether it is excellence in their fields of work or for their many years of service in the community. The 2023 honours list also features people who have earned praise for untiring voluntary work.
A string of MBEs and BEMs have been awarded this year. Here is a look at just some of the recipients from our region who have been singled out and celebrated for their achievements.
Read More: King's Birthday Honours 2023: Full list of North East people applauded for their work
Peter Heath - King’s Fire Service Medal
The next Chief Fire Officer of Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service has spoken of his pride after being awarded a King’s Fire Service Medal.
Peter Heath has been Deputy Chief Fire Officer at TWFRS since 2020 and in May it was announced that he will replace Chris Lowther as Chief Fire Officer when he retires in October. Peter, who holds the position of Chief Fire Officer Designate until taking on the role permanently, has served communities for an incredible 31 years.
He said: "I feel very humbled and honoured to have been awarded the Kings Fire Service Medal. The support of my family has enabled me to commit myself over the last 30 plus years to doing my best and for them as much as myself I feel very grateful for the recognition."
Peter joined the fire service in 1992 when he began a career as a firefighter with the Lothian and Borders Fire Brigade in Scotland. He served at several fire stations across Edinburgh and the Scottish Borders as firefighter, leading firefighter, sub officer and station officer.
He also held roles as a fire safety enforcement officer, training officer, in operational planning as well as a range of managerial and leadership roles including a two-year secondment to the Scottish Fire Services College as a group manager in the learning development team. In 2013, following the creation of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Peter was programme manager and led work on operational response and resilience to ensure readiness for the commencement of the new service on day one.
Bill Barnes - MBE
Bill Barnes has been hailed as a dedicated and selfless man who has made a significant contribution to his community for years.
The 85-year-old, from Throckley, Newcastle, who is getting an MBE for services to education and to his community, has been described as a role model for children. Instead of putting his feet up, the former insurance broker has been a governor at St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School, Walbottle, since 2001.
He was also chair of governors for a number of years and only recently stepped down from that role for health reasons. But he remains as a governor and is active in ensuring the school manages to meet financial and regulatory targets and the children receive the best education they can.
He shares financial expertise with the school finance team, ensures health and safety standards are upheld and writes reports on safety. He is a regular figure at school events, and dressed as Santa Claus during Christmas for around 12 years. He is known to buy staff Christmas gifts out of his own pocket.
In addition, he is a senior member of his local Catholic church, also called St Cuthbert's, and personally leads the gift aid scheme and supports vulnerable people. Speaking of the MBE, Bill, a grandfather of five, said: "I'm quite humbled. I've done things that need to be done - I don't expect any award for it."
When asked why he has dedicated so many years to the school, he said: "My three children - they are aged 60, 55 and 52 now - they went to that primary school. This is my way of thanking them for the education they got. I can only give my heartfelt thanks and give a little bit back to them."
Jean Trewick - MBE
It's no surprise that Jean Trewick is getting an MBE for services to voluntary organisations - she has been involved in charity work since she was 18.
The 63-year-old, of Howdon, is very proud to be involved with the Girls’ Brigade, First Wallsend Company, of which she is now treasurer. She spends several hours every week working with girls aged from five to 18 leading, organising, and participating in activities such as games, craft, cookery and badgework.
She also organises and participates in regular outings, sleepovers, weekends away and camping trips. All the activities are tailored to achieving badges and teaching the girls life skills such as independence, responsibility and allowing them to have fun and a focus in life.
During the pandemic, she maintained contact with the girls and provided monthly activity packs, offered monthly on-line meetings, and held on-line events including cooking, art and sleeping challenges. This held the girls' interest and resulted in most of them returning to the group as soon as Covid restrictions were lifted.
Jean, who works for the Department for Work and Pensions, organised a joint Girls Brigade and Scout venture to build a school in Zambia in 2009. The result was an additional two classrooms added to an existing building, which enabled 13 to 15-year-olds to attend school locally, avoiding a three-mile journey on foot to and from school each day. They spent 18 months fundraising to pay for the building materials.
She also self-funded a visit to Bluefield, a very deprived and remote area in Nicaragua. This happened after she came into contact with a missionary working for the Sift Charity. She worked at feeding programmes, preparing nutritious meals with limited ingredients and resources for up to 120 children.
She repeated this visit in 2017 and most recently returned for four weeks in September 2022. She also self-funded care packages for patients in a maternity hospital and at the rock quarry.
On receiving the MBE, Jean said: "I feel very honoured and humbled. I didn't expect this at all. The letter telling me about it arrived on my birthday in May and I was speechless."
On her work, she added: "I do this to help people. My mantra in life is - there's always someone who is worse off than you. You can do little things to help those who are disadvantaged. Going to Zambia and Nicaragua was just a humbling experience.
"And with the Girls’ Brigade, it's great to see the girls blossom. I see them from when they start, sometimes when they are four, through to 17 or 18, and see how they grow and prepare themselves for the world."
Selwyn Morgans - MBE
Selwyn Morgans has dedicated more than 40 years working with vulnerable looked-after children and is now receiving an MBE for services to children's social care.
The 62-year-old, from Newton Aycliffe, was a senior manager at Aycliffe Secure Children’s Home, County Durham, between 2015 and 2022 - the largest secure children’s home in the country caring for vulnerable children. Aycliffe cares for young people with complex needs, such as mental health issues including self-harm, extreme aggression and violence. Some have been victims of criminal or sexual exploitation.
Trauma has been prevalent in their lives and a secure setting is needed to manage their issues, provide safety and care. For seven years, Selwyn led a multi-disciplinary team, developing a culture encouraging and inspiring people to be the best they can be, enabling them to achieve their potential.
Ofsted were impressed with his commitment and judged Aycliffe as ‘outstanding’ in all areas in September 2019. The report commended the support Selwyn had in place at Aycliffe which led to a reduction in custodial sentences for young people.
The Covid pandemic put unparalleled pressure on Aycliffe due to the impact on the workforce. At its worst, a quarter of Aycliffe’s workforce were absent, meaning the home was at real risk of closing. Selwyn worked tirelessly to create business continuity plans, covered shifts from absent staff and inducted additional staff to ensure Aycliffe remained open.
He said: "It feels fantastic to get an MBE, it's good to be recognised. At the same time, it's very humbling. I think, an award for me? Why? There are lots of people who work equally as hard. This award is shared with all my colleagues for all the support and hard work they have done with me over the years.
"This is also recognition for the young people I have worked with. I have met some fabulous children, they are exceptional young people who may not have had the best start in life.
"When they come through the doors, some of the most vulnerable young people from across the country, they must feel their life is at an end. But it isn't - it's a new start. The rest of their story is not written. We want them to write that and be happy.
"Once you get to know them, they are lovely kids who have got great personalities and great talents."
Lynne McKenna - MBE
A University of Sunderland professor who is playing a key role in shaping the future of teacher training has been awarded an MBE.
Prof Lynne McKenna, dean of the faculty of education and society, is receiving the honour in recognition of her services to education. She joined the university in 2015 as head of the school of education and in 2018 was appointed as dean of the faculty of education and society.
Before this, she was director of initial teacher education in the faculty of health and life sciences at Northumbria University. Prof McKenna, 59, of East Boldon, said: "I’m truly honoured to receive this award, but I share it with so many talented, inspirational and dedicated colleagues across school and university sectors.
"I wholeheartedly believe in the transformative power of education, having experienced this for myself entering higher education as a mature student at Sunderland Polytechnic in 1987. It has been a privilege to work in education over the past 32 years, first as a teacher in schools across the North East and then subsequently in initial and post-qualifying teacher education in universities."
She added: “To be dean at the University of Sunderland – the university which gave me the platform to launch my career - has been and continues to be one of the most rewarding experiences of my working life."
The former teacher studied at Sunderland and graduated with a BEd (Hons) in 1991, before starting her career in a primary school in South Shields. She went on to study for her M.Ed at Newcastle University and has an Ed.D from Durham University.
She has worked in higher education at three North East universities since 1998 in a variety of leadership roles. In her current role at Sunderland, she is responsible for the strategic direction and development of two large academic schools - the school of education and the school of social sciences.
Sunderland University is the North East’s largest ITT provider and provision has further expanded under Prof McKenna's leadership. She recently led the university to become one of only six UK providers taking part in a prestigious International Qualified Teacher Status (iQTS) pilot scheme, which aims to increase the accessibility of high-quality, evidence-based training globally.
Teresa Chaytor - MBE
Teresa Chaytor is being honoured with an MBE for services to the performing arts for people with learning disabilities.
The 51-year-old, from Durham, co-founded TIN Arts to address the lack of provision for people with a learning disability to participate in dance and the performing arts. As artistic director of TIN Arts, she provides the vision to allow dancers to realise their ambitions and reach their potential.
For 20 years, she and her co-founder Paul Martin Wilson have been committed to supporting the UK dance sector to become more accessible, supporting learning disabled artists to develop their own projects, and showcasing a high-quality programme of work to audiences around the UK.
They have showcased over 1,000 performances to more than 100,000 audience members, delivered 20,000 workshops and five inclusive arts festivals to more than 120,000 young dancers and their families. In 2017 they created the pioneering Talent Hub.
Working with Yorkshire Dance and disability charity Inclusion North, she delivered a tailored residential programme, culminating in the critically acclaimed performance, HELM. Touring the UK in 2020, this model is groundbreaking and the learning is being implemented across the UK dance sector with partners such as Sadler’s Wells, Kala Sangam, Dance City and Northern Ballet. TIN Arts has supported dancers to become professionals, such as George Williams, the first dancer with a learning disability to successfully audition for the Sadler’s Wells National Youth Dance Company, (NYDC).
Teresa said: "It is a real honour to be awarded an MBE and it has come as a total surprise. Over the years I have been very fortunate to be able to meet people of all walks of life and it has been a privilege to dance, create, perform and share my passion for dance with them.
"It has only been possible due to the many colleagues who have worked or currently work alongside me so this award is for all of us and not just myself. I hope this award raises the profile of the many talented artists with a learning disability I have met and have had the privilege to support."
Alice Good - MBE
Some Ukrainians who fled to the UK are having to leave the country because they cannot find housing, a volunteer made an MBE has said.
Alice Good, 55, from Alnwick, Northumberland, said she is "honoured and overwhelmed" to be recognised for setting up Sunflower Sisters, a support group for families arriving in the country from Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia last February. Ms Good, who came up with the idea after seeing a picture of a mother with a child the same age as her daughter, said 14,000 refugees have been housed by her group.
She has called on the Government to step in as families come to the end of their sponsorship arrangements and try to find their own private rented accommodation. Many are "trying to find housing" but are finding it difficult, Ms Good said.
"In the north of England it's a little easy to get social housing," she said. "In the south it's extremely difficult to get social housing with the cost of rental properties.
"With many of these Ukrainians, they may have had great careers back in Ukraine, but when you don't speak the language you're not going to be able to come and do the same thing most of the time in the UK. So they're taking a lot of menial jobs that might be cleaning, it might be working as a kitchen assistant.
"They don't have the money to be able to afford to rent nice properties. But the biggest problem we've got is that to get a rental property, you need to have a credit history.
"If you don't have that and you don't have six months' rent up front, you've got to have a guarantor. Well, they don't have a guarantor."
Ms Good continued: "What I would say to the Government is you need to work with the councils to try to set up some type of guarantor system for these people because some of them are now considering going back to Ukraine, and indeed some are going back to Ukraine because they can't get a home.
"And, of course, you've got women who've gone through the whole trauma of bringing their children, integrating them into the community, getting them into a new school, the whole language barrier and because they can't get housing are having to move a long way away."
Arlene Holmes-Henderson - MBE
A Durham University researcher dedicated to improving young people’s life chances through learning has also received a Royal honour.
Dr Arlene Holmes-Henderson, associate professor of classics and ancient history, has been made an MBE for services to education. The award recognises her work to make classics more widely available in schools and helping young people develop their communication skills.
She holds a British Academy Innovation Fellowship entitled ‘Levelling-up through talk’, which investigates how speech, communication and active listening contribute to young people’s social mobility and employability. She is also leading a major new multi-disciplinary project ‘Shy bairns get nowt’ to help teachers improve the teaching of oracy skills in North East schools.
Dr Holmes-Henderson said it was an honour to receive an MBE for her work. She added: "I collaborate with inspiring colleagues in academia, schools, charities and museums. This award is a reflection of our collective achievements. I enjoy using my experience, knowledge and skills to make a positive difference."
Dr Holmes-Henderson joined Durham University in October 2022 as a British Academy Innovation Fellow and Associate Professor of Classics and Ancient History.
Tom Robson - BEM
Fundraiser Tom Robson has been awarded a BEM for charitable services to the community.
The 61-year-old, of Whickham, who runs specialist environmental engineering company Roflow, has been running events and donating to charity for some 30 years. The main benefactor has been the Great North Air Ambulance Service and to date, he has helped to raise more than a quarter of a million pounds for the charity.
He has done this by organising a number of events such as race days, all paid for out of his own pocket, and sponsoring a car to be raffled. He also encourages his business contacts to become involved in his charity ventures, such as sponsoring a horse race, purchasing tables at dinners, entering teams in cycling and other events.
His generosity in raising £6K for NE Youth enabled the organisation to help disadvantaged young people take part in outdoor events, something few of them had experienced. Over the past 10 years, he has added SSAFA The Armed Forces Charity and the ABF The Soldiers’ Charity to the list of those he supports on a regular basis.
Tom explained that his fundraising for the Great North Air Ambulance stemmed from a personal family experience. The charity helped his mum Sylvia, who had a motor neurone condition and lived six miles out of Rothbury, in Northumberland.
Just two days before her death, the charity provided assistance and took her to hospital, providing vital support to the family. Sylvia, who was 66 at the time, was also a supporter of the charity herself.
Speaking about the award, Tom said: "I'm honoured, I'm very privileged and delighted. It was a surprise when I got the letter, I was stunned and it was an emotional moment."
Tara Mackings - BEM
Tara Mackings has made a huge impact in her community - and for that she has earned a BEM.
The 41-year-old, from Whitburn, who has cerebral palsy, is known for her voluntary work, fundraising and being a positive role model to others. She founded Tailored Leisure Company (TLC), which develops accessible opportunities for people to get fit, have fun and relax with as little stress as possible. The service is passionate about overcoming barriers and social exclusion faced by disabled people.
She said: "I was absolutely shocked and overwhelmed when I was contacted by the Cabinet Office with the news. It’s such an amazing accolade to receive for both myself, the team and Tailored Leisure Company as a whole.
"We’ve worked so hard over the years to build the concept and to receive recognition from the highest levels is just awe-inspiring, I really can’t believe it and to especially have my children share this special memory with me is just wonderful."
The award-winning formula at TLC has seen the team pick up an influx of award nominations and wins for their ground-breaking work and they have established a collaborative approach to develop accessible projects across the region, with partners including SAFCs Foundation of Light, Sunderland City Council and Headway Wearside. TLC was recently successful in securing £125,000 from the National Lottery Community Fund for a two-year project to further grow their work.
With a concept that developed in lockdown, Tara and the team have successfully grown their initial Sit to be Fit classes into a large-scale community engagement project, supporting over 3,000 people to access tailored fitness support.
Tara added: "Collaboration is at the heart of everything we do, and we have developed some fantastic links with key partners including SAFCs Foundation of Light, Sunderland City Council and Headway. These partnerships and our track-record has been a key ingredient to TLC successfully achieving strong growth over the last two years.
"We love what we do, and we are determined to promote social inclusion and access to bespoke leisure and fitness activities, so that everyone can enjoy life without compromise, we are so excited for the future."
Julia Robinson - BEM
Julia Robinson is being handed a BEM for services to public libraries and to the community.
The 47-year-old, from Hebburn, has been an advocate for libraries, arts and culture regionally and nationally. She leads the delivery of library services in South Tyneside where she has played a key role in developing new sites including, The Word, Hebburn Central and Jarrow Focus.
The largest of these projects was The Word, a state-of-the-art cultural venue, built as part of an ambitious South Shields regeneration project. She ensured the new library provided a friendly space that offered exciting experiences, activities and facilities for people of all ages and backgrounds.
Her efforts resulted in an inclusive space, which in its first year saw 400,000 visitors, and an 176% increase in new members as well as a wider demographic of people using the library. The success of this project has seen her speak at conferences in the UK and Netherlands, and since opening in October 2016, the library has won several accolades including, the Local Authority Building Control - Best Public Service Building Award.
Julia has also championed the expansion of library activities, in particular the Write Festival, a week-long programme of events, showcasing literary and creative talent. The annual celebration, which began in 2016, attracts local, national and international authors and includes a range of performances, workshops and talks for a variety of ages.
She said: "I love public libraries and all that they stand for. Getting an award like this is quite surreal but gives me the opportunity to talk about libraries, and the fantastic work which libraries in South Tyneside do every day."
Ian Pattison - BEM
Dr Ian Pattison is being honoured with a BEM for services to the NHS.
The 50-year-old, from Gateshead, who works as a GP at Southlands Medical Group in Ryhope, was elected chair of the NHS Sunderland Clinical Commissioning Group in 2013. Prior to him taking on this role, general practice in the city was known as difficult, unattractive to future GPs with very little joint working between practices and with few clinical leaders.
Now the situation is completely different, is unified and has a voice in the local system, with practices supporting each other within their areas and across the city. Dr Pattison's vision was to achieve Better Health for Sunderland by developing a multi-focused solution.
He helped establish a city-wide alliance which allowed GPs to work in multi-disciplinary locality groups and use their feedback to evolve community care. He also developed new ways of working that brought social and health care together in a way not done before.
Patients and staff now had a single point of contact for their health and social care needs, no longer spending weeks negotiating many systems. His innovative solutions and patterns of care were recognised nationally, resulting in £15m of new funding to support multi-speciality community provider work.
The city now performs well on the number of people supported to live at home, low rates of delayed hospital discharges, reduced hospital stays and positive feedback from staff, carers and patients.
Dr Pattison said: "It is a great honour to receive this award and recognition. It has been my great privilege to have served the people of Sunderland for over 25 years working within our wonderful NHS.
"The awards merit reads testament to all of the hard work undertaken by the great colleagues and patients that I have had the absolute privilege of working alongside, thank you to all. A special thank you is needed to my wife Kerry and family who have tolerated my absences and supported me resolutely at all times.
"The greatest thing about my duties as an NHS doctor is the fact my work at its absolute essence involves helping people in need on a daily basis to the best of my ability. This is what for me makes working in our NHS so special."
Karolynne Hart - BEM
A BEM is being presented to Karolynne Hart for services to public libraries and to the arts.
The 51-year-old is a cultural and arts programme manager at Gateshead Libraries. She has made an outstanding contribution to the development of Gateshead Libraries as a place for accessible, diverse and creative activities.
Most recently, she secured funding from Arts Council England and the Baring Foundation to develop Art Diamonds, a three-year creative programme for people of retirement age. The programme included workshops with artists, short courses, creative challenges and cultural visits.
During lockdown, participants felt more isolated than ever and she responded by creating a sense of community for people who were unable to get out and see friends and family. The project went from strength to strength during the pandemic, engaging over 200 elderly people ranging from 60 to 94 years of age, with newsletters, activities, phone calls, a Facebook group and more. Over three years, the programme delivered 193 workshops, employed 110 artists, and resulted in 1367 participatory engagements.
Karolynne has also changed the quantity and quality of arts provision in Gateshead through creative projects, workshops, exhibitions, and cultural events. She works tirelessly to deliver arts provision and help people recognise the power of arts engagement.
An example of this is The Gallery at Gateshead Library, which she established and manages. It hosts a programme of dynamic exhibitions alongside workshops and opportunities for participants to glean insight into artistic practices.
Karolynne said: "I'm absolutely thrilled to be awarded a BEM for my work bringing arts to communities in Gateshead. I've always been passionate about the positive impact that creativity has on our wellbeing and throughout the pandemic this became even more important, helping people to feel part of a supportive group, staying in touch and encouraging each other to stay motivated. I'm very lucky to have a job I love and being honoured for this, makes me very proud.
"I've worked for Gateshead Libraries, Arts & Heritage for over 25 years now and no two weeks are ever the same. I really enjoy working with the many talented artists we have in our region and helping people of all ages to access arts and culture in libraries, parks, schools and community spaces near them.
"It's so very rewarding knowing that the work I do helps improve how people feel and provides an opportunity for them to write, paint, stitch, dance or craft to express themselves."
Lewis Potter - BEM
Dr Lewis Potter has earned a BEM for services to higher education and medicine.
The 34-year-old, of Heaton, works as a GP trainee at The Village Surgery, in Silksworth, as well as being a clinical skills tutor at Sunderland Medical School. He founded Geeky Medics, Geekymedics.com, a free online medical education platform in 2010 when he was a medical student at Newcastle University, in an attempt to improve on the limited resources then available to students learning clinical skills.
He has continued to work on the Geeky Medics project ever since, balancing it alongside his medical training. Geeky Medics provides free high quality medical educational resources and tools, including clinical skills resources which are used by most UK medical schools.
The service is widely relied on by medical students in the UK and worldwide, and it is perhaps the best example of global Free Open Access Medical Education. It is accessed regularly by people from more than 150 countries.
Geeky Medics content recently surpassed a quarter of a billion total views and now receives over five million views a month from a global audience. The platform has been recognised in the student British Medical Journal for its contribution to the field of medical education.
Despite the majority of the content being free, he has demonstrated his entrepreneurship in recent years, generating revenue by charging a modest fee for packs of practice Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) stations. This has enabled him to employ staff to expand the offering of practice questions, enable the further development of the website with features such as the ability to interact with and learn from other students.
Dr Potter said: "I am delighted to be an honours recipient, it’s wonderful to be recognised for doing something I’m deeply passionate about. It certainly helps make the more challenging times over the last 12 years, where I really need to push myself to keep working on geekymedics.com, feel worthwhile.
"For me, the most rewarding part of working on Geeky Medics is being able to observe the direct impact our educational tools and materials have on our global community of healthcare students and professionals. This is often in the form of emails letting us know that we’ve helped a healthcare student understand a challenging topic that they’ve always struggled with or a healthcare professional deliver teaching using our resources."
Vikki Ewen - BEM
Vikki Ewen is getting a BEM for services to the community in Coquetdale, Northumberland.
The 56-year-old established a Coquetdale Lunch Club in her local area in Thropton in 2017. She single-handedly researched the needs and requirements of older and vulnerable people in the area, then recruited and organised a team of volunteers for the club.
The team, including herself, worked on food preparation and publicity. Under her leadership, the club expanded further by both providing wider community support and developing its own fundraising capacity.
This included outings to locations of interest and seasonal events. She arranged a partnership with the local Community Transport Team which expanded into the wider Coquet valley. This enabled the lunch club to reach a wider and larger section of the population in this remote area.
At the onset of the pandemic she was left with a challenging situation, but she knew the club could be used to help more people within the community. She then created a hub for vulnerable people and those self isolating.
This meant that due to shielding reasons, the hub would essentially become a remote service. Meals were then delivered directly to clients' homes. She and other colleagues at the club also assisted with collection and delivery of shopping, medical prescriptions and transport for people to and from their GP/hospital appointments. During her time working at this club, she has increased the numbers from serving 30 to 40 people now to over 100.
Vikki said: "When the letter arrived from the Cabinet Office a few weeks ago it was a surprise, a joy and, without being too ott, quite overwhelming too. Even with the lunch club being back to meeting regularly after seventeen months of delivering meals and all manner of other treats, puzzle books, jigsaws, hampers, it left a big impact on me personally as it was tough going sometimes.
"To know that someone, somewhere has bothered to go through the nomination process is very special. When the Cabinet Office phoned to go through the citation, and I found that moving too, just hearing everything our wee lunch club has done and does. It is a special place.
"The best thing about the Coquetdale Lunch Club? The team of volunteers are exceptional and we have such a laugh. The people who come are gorgeous. Being part of the wider Community Action Northumberland Warm Hub scheme means that we have support from CAN and the other Hubs across Northumberland. We are meeting some of them at Seahouses for a fish & chip lunch on 28th June, I think around 140 people will meet up. The link we have with the Upper Coquetdale Community Transport is exceptional.
"During Covid, I was asked by the son of one of our clubbers ‘why I did it?’- my parents live in Ireland, My in-laws in Orkney, it was impossible for us to visit or help. But, other people in those communities were there for our parents, and so, we were there for other folks' mum and dad in Coquetdale when they couldn’t be - that is what we live in a community for and how society works best.
"I absolutely love leading and being involved in the Coquetdale Lunch Club. This is just a lovely, lovely honour."
Read Next:
