Queen's New Year Honours for Staffordshire

Her Majesty the Queen has recognised Staffordshire residents for their achievements in the New Year's Honours.

An Olympic champion and community heroes are among the Staffordshire residents recognised by Her Majesty the Queen in her New Year Honours.

Other honours have been awarded to members of the health and nursing professions, and for work in social care and economic regeneration.

Best-known recipient is Uttoxeter-born swimmer Adam Peaty, who is now awarded the OBE, following his golden achievements at the Tokyo Olympics, a promotion to the MBE he received after his 2016 Games success in Rio de Janeiro.

Also recognised are Professor Helen Jayne Stokes-Lampard, of Tamworth, who is made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to medical General Practice, and Kinver resident Laura Manning Shoaf, who is made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) following her work at Transport for the West Midlands.

Alan White, Leader of Staffordshire County Council, said:

These awards capture the best of Staffordshire, ranging from those who set international and national standards of sporting and professional excellence, to those who make a real difference to their communities and the people who live there.

This county’s greatest asset is its people and, in passing on my congratulations to them all for their achievements, I am proud to be associated with them and with Staffordshire.”

Mr Ian Dudson CBE, HM Lord-Lieutenant of Staffordshire, said:

People from all walks of life are brought together to be honoured by Her Majesty the Queen on behalf of us all for their example, effort and contribution to our society.

We congratulate all those from Staffordshire who have been recognised in this way and share their pride at this special moment.”

The honours include continuing recognition for exceptional responses to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Lianne Al-Khaldi, of Stafford, is made a Medallist of the Order of the British Empire (BEM) having organised a network of 35 volunteers making PPE for hospitals – at the same time as home schooling her four children. What started as a solo sewing operation grew as she taught her children how to read patterns and use the sewing machine, before becoming a focal point for volunteers’ efforts – with the group eventually making and delivering 3,500 items of PPE.

Prior to the pandemic Lianne set up a ‘community fridge project’ to support food banks and children’s centres and today helps more than 1,000 families access a fresh and healthy diet.

Emily Doorbar, of Caverswall, is also made a BEM for her work during the pandemic. A customer service manager at Staffordshire County Council, in March 2020 she quickly set up from scratch the county’s track and trace system to understand how the infection was spreading and to limit transmissions wherever possible.

Her system achieved almost a 100 per cent success rate for contact tracing and was shared with other local authorities as best practice, as well as informing national development of local contact tracing.

Emily said:

Receiving this has been a shock and something I wasn’t expecting. As a team we knew how important it was to work together to put support in place for our residents, especially at a time when so much was unknown. I feel proud that we were able to be there for our residents when they needed us and to make a positive difference.

Contact tracing has played an essential part in our response to Covid-19 and not only has it helped Staffordshire to keep our residents safe, it provided a way for us to connect with our community and offer support at a time when they needed it most.

It’s not something me or the team have done before, so it’s fair to say it’s been a challenge, but a rewarding one.”

Residents of Staffordshire who have received an honour include:

• DBE for Professor Helen Jayne Stokes-Lampard, of Tamworth, Chair of the Medical Royal Colleges and Chair of the National Academy of Social Prescribing, for services to General Practice;
• CBE for Laura Manning Shoaf, of Kinver, lately Managing Director of Transport for the West Midlands, for services to the economic regeneration of the West Midlands;
• OBE for Adam Peaty MBE, formerly of Uttoxeter, Olympic gold medallist and World Record holder, for services to swimming;
• MBE for Kay McIntyre, of Biddulph, Youth Support and Participation Young People Manager at East Cheshire Council, for services to children and young people;
• MBE for Patrick Nyarumbu, of Stafford, Executive Director of Strategy People and Partnerships at Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, for services to nursing;
• BEM for Lianne Jayne Al-Khaldi, of Stafford, for services to the community in Stafford during Covid-19;
• BEM for Emily Doorbar, of Caverswall, Customer Services Manager at Staffordshire County Council, for public service during the Covid-19 pandemic;
• BEM for Ian Derek Mountford, of Stoke-on-Trent, for services to the community in Stoke-on-Trent, particularly during Covid-19;
• BEM for Adam Ralph Prince, of Rushton Spencer, for services to the community in Burnham, Buckinghamshire, during Covid-19.