Special honours are given to people who make outstanding contributions to their community and the country, with the New Year Honours acknowledging 1,107 people in the UK this year.
They range from politicians, musicians and actors to senior diplomats at the forefront of the UK’s response to the war in Ukraine, as well as members of the England women’s football team who won Euro 2022.
There are many incredible people from, working in, or who have links so south east London, who have been rewarded with a special honour.
Here are the individuals with south east London links on the New Years Honours list:
Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour
• Dame Mary QUANT DBE - Fashion Designer. For services to Fashion (Blackheath)
Designer Dame Mary Quant, who is widely credited with popularising the mini skirt, has been appointed a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in the New Year Honours list.
She was one of the most influential figures in the fashion scene of the 1960s and was appointed for services to fashion.
The 92-year-old fashion designer is credited with making fashion accessible to the masses with her sleek, streamlined and vibrant designs.
Born in Blackheath on February 11 1930, Dame Mary is the daughter of two Welsh school teachers.
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
• Rosamund ADOO-KISSI-DEBRAH - Co-Founder and Chair, the Ella Roberta Family Foundation. For services to Public Health The mother of a nine-year-old girl who died from an asthma attack and air pollution says she would be “overjoyed” as she is made a CBE.
Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, from Lewisham, south-east London, has been named in the New Year Honours list for services to public health.
She has been campaigning for the Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill or “Ella’s law” – named after her daughter who died in 2013 and later became the first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as a cause of death.
The Bill is set to be scrutinised by MPs in the Commons after passing the Lords in early December.
Ms Adoo-Kissi-Debrah told the PA news agency her daughter would be “proud” of what she has achieved so far in her fight for cleaner air.
“(Ella) would be over the moon, she would be overjoyed,” she said.
“Although I got the inquest victory, she would be really, really proud that I just didn’t give up because I could have walked, couldn’t I?
“I could have got that victory and thought: ‘OK, I now know what happened to her – end of story’ and just moved on.
“I think she would be incredibly incredibly proud – oh God, yeah. It’s an absolute honour and recognition for the campaign.”
• George Richard Ian HOWE (GEORGE FENTON) - Composer. For services to Music (Bromley)
Composer George Fenton (Born in Bromley) who has collaborated with directors including Richard Attenborough, Nora Ephron and Ken Loach, and scored wildlife documentaries by Sir David Attenborough, is made a CBE for services to music.
Orders of the British Empire
- Stephen GRAHAM- Actor. For services to Drama
Stephen Graham has become an OBE for services to drama in the New Year Honours list.
The 49-year-old Merseyside-born actor has won plaudits playing Irish, English and American criminals and police officers in various blockbuster Hollywood films and hit TV dramas across his three-decade career.
He formerly lived in Beckenham.
He starred in the 2000 crime comedy film Snatch alongside Brad Pitt and Jason Statham, as well as 2019’s gangster epic The Irishman, where he played real-life mobster Anthony Provenzano alongside Al Pacino and Robert De Niro.
Graham also played criminals Stephen Shang in Gangs Of New York in 2002, Baby Face Nelson in Public Enemies in 2009 and infamous mobster Al Capone in period crime drama series Boardwalk Empire.
He is perhaps best known for his role of short-fused English nationalist Andrew “Combo” Gascoigne in the 2006 film This Is England.
He later reprised the skinhead character in the Channel 4 series This Is England ’86, This Is England ’88 and This Is England ’90.
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
• Benjamin LINDSAY -Chief Executive Officer, Power the Fight. For services to the community in South East London
Launched in 2019, Power the Fight is an award-winning charity which tackles violence affecting young people.
• Kieran Jude OSBORNE - Chair of Trustees, Impact Multi Academy Trust, London. For services to Education – (South east London schools)
• Katrina Louise PHILLIPS - Chief Executive, Child Accident Prevention Trust (Based in south east London). For services to Child Safety Members of the Order of the British Empire
• Andrew BURNETT - For services to the community in Peckham and Nunhead, London Borough of Southwark, during Covid-19
• Charlotte Victoria FRANCIS - Head of Mathematics, St Catherine's Catholic School, Bexleyheath, Greater London, Chief Executive Officer, Biankha and Friends, and Chief Executive Officer, Tutall Ltd. For services to Education
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here