St Catharine’s is proud that the service of our alumni has been recognised in the first King’s Birthday Honours List, which marks the extraordinary contributions and service of people across the UK:
Professor Peter Barnes FRS (1966, Medical Sciences; Honorary Fellow 2011) has been appointed a Knight Batchelor for services to Respiratory Science;
Olivia Pinkney QPM (1988, Mathematics) has been appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to Policing;
Gareth Bullock (1973, Modern and Medieval Languages) has been appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the Welsh Financial Economy;
Colonel Roly Cockwell MBE (1991, Engineering) has been appointed an OBE for service in the Military Division;
Roly Owers (1986, Veterinary Medicine) has been appointed an OBE for services to Equine Welfare in the UK and Abroad;
Professor Lauren Rea (2004, Latin American Studies) has been appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to education in Latin America and the UK; and
Paul Leddington Wright (1970, Music) has been appointed a Member of the Royal Victorian Order (MVO) for services to the Royal Household as Secretary in the Royal Almonry.
“I am sure everyone at St Catharine's will want to join me in congratulating our seven alumni on theirwell-deserved honours - it is remarkable that so many have been recognised for their public service this year. I continue to be inspired by how our alumni take what they learn at St Catharine’s and use this knowledge to serve and help a tremendously wide range of causes in the UK and around the world.”
Professor Sir Peter Barnes FRS
Sir Peter is Professor of Thoracic Medicine at the National Heart and Lung Institute and he was Head of Respiratory Medicine at Imperial until 2017. The Honours citation celebrates him as “the most eminent respiratory physician and scientist in the UK” and how his work studying respiratory diseases “led directly to the development of new drugs for the treatment of asthma, which are now in widespread use and benefitting millions of patients globally".
He said, “I was surprised and delighted to receive this prestigious award for services to respiratory science. I would like to pay tribute to all of the students, post-docs, research fellows and colleagues at Imperial College with whom I have worked over several decades. It has always been a privilege to be part of Catz and recently as an Honorary Fellow. I am pleased his award recognises academic respiratory medicine, which is poorly funded in the UK, despite the fact that respiratory diseases affect one in seven people and is now the third ranked cause of death in this country.”
Olivia Pinkney CBE QPM
Olivia was the first female chief constable of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Constabulary (she retired earlier this year). She has also held national positions as the lead for Local Policing and the Policing of Children and Young People, was chair of the UK Women Chief Officers’ Network and the national chaplaincy lead for the police service. In 2016, she was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal (QPM). She is one of the associated teaching staff supporting students on the University of Cambridge’s MSt programme in Applied Criminology and Police Management.
She reflected, “It is a thrill and honour to receive this CBE. I joined policing straight from Catz, not knowing much about it, but found my vocation instantly. Policing is a fine profession, full of people who go the extra mile to make the dark days better. It is the most transparent of any public service and must continue to strive for improvement, which my colleagues and I are determined to do. One of the ways I continue to champion policing, having ended my time as an officer, is back at Cambridge with the Institute of Criminology a block away from St Chad’s.”
Gareth Bullock OBE
Credit: Development Bank of Wales
Gareth has more than 45 years’ experience in financial services, including numerous board positions. Appointed as Chair of Finance Wales in 2015, he oversaw a successful transition to become the Development Bank of Wales in 2017. Since his appointment, the organisation has grown from an annual investment rate of £45 million to a record £124 million announced by the Bank earlier this month. At the end of its first five-year corporate plan, the organisation had a total economic impact in excess of £1 billion. He was also a Trustee of the British Council from 2012 to 2018.
He commented, “While it is certainly a great personal honour, I absolutely recognise that the award is in large part due to the success of the Development Bank. Of course, that success is entirely founded upon the hard work, creativity and dedication of our team. It is gratifying to be recognised for a role I enjoy so much. Being at the heart of innovation in the way we deliver finance that works for the people, businesses and communities of Wales has been a privilege.”
Colonel Roly Cockwell MBE OBE
Colonel Cockwell has more than 30 years’ experience in defence and security – spanning engineering, innovation and information systems as well as geospatial intelligence (GEOINT). From 2016 to 2019 he was the British Army’s senior Geographer with responsibility for functional leadership and assurance of more than 500 specialist soldiers and officers. In his current role of Dep Head GEOINT in Joint User Intelligence & Cyber, he is Programme Director for the PICASSO equipment programme that underpins UK’s Defence GEOINT capability and is responsible for the Ministry of Defence’s geospatial intelligence policy as well as geospatial information and data standards. He was appointed an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2007, when he was a major in the Corps of Royal Engineers.
Roly Owers OBE
Credit: World Horse Welfare
Since 2008, Roly has been Chief Executive of World Horse Welfare, a charity working with horses, horse owners, communities, organisations and governments to identify and share good practice, and improve welfare policies, standards and legislation. A qualified veterinary surgeon, his current international roles include Chair of the International Coalition for Animal Welfare, Treasurer of World Federation for Animals, a board member of the European Horse Network and Vice Chair of Eurogroup for Animals’ equine working group. In the UK he is Chair of the Equine Disease Coalition, a director of both British Equestrian and the British Horse Council, and Treasurer of the British Equine Veterinary Association.
He commented, “It is a true privilege to be entrusted with leading the work of World Horse Welfare, and I am hugely thankful to my team and my family as this is as much for them as for me. What I find inspiring is that recognition at this level demonstrates the continued relevance of horses to society and the part we all play in protecting their welfare for future generations.”
Professor Lauren Rea MBE
Professor Rea is based at the University of Sheffield’s School of Languages and Cultures, where her research is at the forefront of promoting gender equality in Latin American schools by celebrating women who helped shaped the region. She co-directs the Great Latin American Women project, a transmedia education initiative that offers freely available resources for primary school teachers to help them teach gender equality through the lives of inspirational women. In addition, she is leading a British Academy project to investigate the consequences of the pandemic on access to education, the attainment gap, and family economies in five diverse regions of Argentina.
She said, “I have the great privilege of working with inspiring groups and individuals from across the Latin American region and it’s wonderful to see our efforts recognised in this way. I am grateful for the support of the AHRC and British Academy who have funded my research and, of course, for the help and encouragement of my colleagues, friends and family.”
Paul Leddington Wright MVO
Credit: Coventry Cathedral Chorus
In his capacity as Secretary of the Royal Almonry, Paul supported the organisation of the annual Royal Maundy distribution by the monarch. He is perhaps better known for his career as a conductor, which started at 15 years old and continued while he was an organ scholar at St Catharine’s. As principal conductor for BBC TV’s 'Songs of Praise' series, he conducted hundreds of programmes, including the 40th and 50th anniversary specials and 'Big Sings' at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Over the years he has worked not only with top London session orchestras, but also the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Concert, Hallé, BBC Philharmonia, Northern Sinfonia, English Chamber Orchestra and Southbank Sinfonia.
