Queen's Birthday Honours: the people of Gwent to get an award

From environmentalism to health work and supporting veterans of the armed forces, there have been a broad range of reasons for the awarding of various titles this year.

Here are this year's recipients.

Nicola Bradbear, from Monmouth, has recieved an MBE for services to biodiversity.

​For more than 35 years, Ms Bradbear has dedicated her life to sharing her expertise on the benefits of bees for sustainability and helping the poor in some of the most disadvantaged places of the world.

A world authority on bees and an expert in apicultural development, she worked for the International Bee Research Association for ten years, before founding Bees for Development in 1993.

As a direct result of Ms Bradbear's influence, Monmouth has become the first Bee Town in the UK and has an annual Bee Festival, currently in its fourth year.

Susan Doheny, from Abergavenny, has been awarded an MBE for services to nursing over a 23-year career in the NHS.

Ms Doheny trained at the Heath in Cardiff before working in London and the West Midlands, and taking up her current post as regional chief nurse for the South West of England.

In that role, she provides professional support for nurses, midwives and students.

She said while the working environment in hospitals had changed since she qualified in 1999, “the fundamentals of nursing” had stayed the same.

Her MBE comes after a “hugely challenging” time for the NHS during the pandemic – and “not just professionally”.

Patricia Anne Husselbee has been awarded a British Empire Medal for voluntary services to veterans.

Mrs Husselbee has been supporting the Royal British Legion for 65 years, and before that helped her father assemble poppies at home.

She follows in the footsteps of her father, Edward Leonard Hammett, who was awarded an MBE in the 1982 honours list for services to the Royal British Legion in Newport.

Mrs Husselbee was a founding member of the Newport Women’s Branch of the Royal British Legion.

“I was over the moon,” she said when asked about the moment she found out the news. “When the letter came through I couldn’t open it. I was gobsmacked and didn’t know what to do.

Claire Aston has been awarded an MBE for services to the Covid-19 response in Wales.

Head of long-term complex care for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, Ms Aston worked collaboratively with the care home sector throughout the pandemic to ensure some of the most vulnerable people in society were protected and safeguarded.

Ms Aston was integral in the design of an escalation framework and contributed to the weekly Covid testing of all residents and staff, so important to provide assurance and assistance at times of unparalleled need.

In the event of an outbreak at a care home, she was a proactive partner in the regional escalation approach and supported the care homes in managing its outbreak, controlling spread and ensuring continued delivery of appropriate care for residents.

Dr Paul Phillips has been awarded a Knights Bachelor for services to education.

Dr Phillips was appointed principal of Weston College in 2001.

Since then he has seen the college progress from below-average academic results and a poor financial situation to receiving an Outstanding report from Ofsted as well as a reputation for excellence nationally.

During his time as principal, Weston College has been awarded TES College of the Year and Overall FE Provider of the Year numerous Association of Colleges Beacon Awards and the Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education in 2018.

Chief constable Pam Kelly has been awarded the Queen's Police Medal (QPM).

Ms Kelly joined Gwent Police in 2017 as the Deputy Chief Constable after having previous served with neighbouring Dyfed-Powys Police.

She has spent much of her carerr within the Criminal Investigation Department, dealing with covert policing, public protection and professional standards.

As well as aiding in the recovery of deceased British citizens following the Japanese tsunami, as well as plane crashes in Afghanistan and Tripoli, Ms Kelly is also trained as a firearms commander, public order commander and hostage negotiator.

She was appointed deputy chief constable for Gwent Police in 2017 and since July 2019, she has been carrying out the role of chief constable.

Jeffrey Price has received the Queen's Ambulance Service Medal (QAM).

Mr Price who was the Welsh Ambulance Service’s senior education & development lead before his retirement last year, started his ambulance career in 1983 after serving with the RAF Police in Northern Ireland.

In 1989 he completed a course to take on a role now referred to as a paramedic.

Since 1999 Mr Price has been training ambulance service staff, gaining qualifications himself along the way including a masters degree from the University of South Wales.

Robin McCleary, from Chepstow, has received an OBE for services to defence.

Martyn Butler has been awarded an OBE for services to charity and public health.

A co-founder of the Terrence Higgins Trust, Mr Butler was one of the earliest activists who called for more awareness in the early stages of the AIDS crisis during the 1980s.

A close friend of Terry Higgins, the first known person in the UK to contract HIV, Mr Butler set up the trust in 1982 with the intention of preventing others from having to suffer as his friend had.

It focused on raising funds for research and awareness of an illness then referred to as “Gay-Related Immune Deficiency”.

With his friends dying all the time, Mr Butler still gets angry about how long it took for HIV to reach the national headlines – and television screens.

Speaking to the Argus last year, Mr Butler spoke of experiencing survivor’s guilt, linked to people who lived and lost loved ones during that time.

“I never quite got over that. It still crops up when I speak about it," he said.

Nicholas Hamer, from Grosmont in Monmouthshire, has been awarded a CBE for public services.

Alun Griffiths has been awarded a CBE for services to the construction industry and the community in Wales.

Alun Griffiths founded the company which bears his name in 1968.

Now, they boast a client base including the Welsh government, Network Rail, Highways England, local authorities, utility companies and selected private sector organisations.

In 2018, Griffiths became part of Tarmac Plc, the UK’s leading sustainable building materials business