King’s Birthday Honours 2025: All those honoured from Cambridgeshire
A host of Cambridgeshire people - from charity leaders to academics - have been honoured in His Majesty The King’s Birthday Honours List 2025.
They are among nearly 50 from the East of England and 1,215 from across the country who are celebrated for their exceptional achievements.
Those from Cambridgeshire receiving honours are detailed below. Nationally, among those honoured are former England footballer David Beckham, who has been knighted, as has The Who frontman Roger Daltrey, while West End performer Elaine Paige said she is in “complete disbelief” that she has been given a Damehood for services to music and to charity.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “This year’s Birthday Honours List is a powerful reminder of the extraordinary dedication, compassion, and service that exists in every corner of our country.
“From community champions to cultural icons, each recipient reflects the very best of Britain. I extend my heartfelt congratulations and gratitude to them all.”
Anyone can nominate someone for an honour. Visit gov.uk/honours to find out more about how you can put them forward.
Here are those from Cambridgeshire honoured in the list.
Order of the British Empire
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
Professor Timothy Cole, professor emeritus of population, health and practice at Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, has been made a CBE for services to medical statistics.
Prof Cole, from Cambridge, studied engineering at Cambridge and statistics at Oxford, and worked in roles for the Medical Research Council between 1970 and 2019, including from 1975 at the MRC Dunn Nutrition Unit in Cambridge. Between 1999 to 2019 he was an external scientific staff member with the MRC, and since then a professional research fellow with UCL. A professor of medical statistics at UCL Institute of Child Health from 1999, he has published more than 700 peer-reviewed papers, with interests covering many aspects of child growth assessment, including growth chart construction, growth curve analysis, factors relating early growth to later outcome, the IOTF child obesity cut-offs, body size scaling and forensic age assessment. In 2006-07 he was appointed honorary fellow of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, and also fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences.
Philip Colligan, chief executive officer at Raspberry Pi Foundation, from Cambridge, has been made a CBE for services to engineering and technology for societal impact.
The foundation uses profits from the sale of the computer business along with philanthropic donations to further its aim of democratising computing for young people around the world. It trains teachers and provides resources for schools and engages young people with online resources and apps, clubs, competitions and partnerships with youth organisations.
Philip told the Cambridge Independent: “It’s very humbling. It means a huge amount. It’s not something I ever expected or anticipated.”
Paying tribute to the team and its achievements, he said: “We’ve built a technology business that is on the London Stock Exchange and valued at over £1bn. The value of that comes to the non-profit, the charity, which means we can use the value created by the technology business to advance our education goals.
“We’ve supported hundreds of thousands of teachers and tens of millions of students over that decade, all over the world.
“We are one of the most significant educational charities in the world focused on computing education and digital skills. That’s a team effort. We have an amazing team and an amazing group of partners and together we’ve been able to build something pretty good.”
Read our full interview with Philip here.
Prof Gordon Dougan, from Cambridge, the GSK professor of microbial pathogenesis at the University of Cambridge, has been made a CBE for services to vaccines and to global health.
A fellow of Wolfson College and an emeritus professor who continues to work in the university’s Department of Medicine, Prof Dougon is the former director of the Infection Health Challenge area at Wellcome, UK.
He is an internationally recognised expert in vaccinology, global health and infections and was head of pathogens at the Wellcome Sanger Institute for more than a decade and previously the founding director of the Centre for Molecular Microbiology and Infection at Imperial College London and a professor of biochemistry.
He also worked in the pharmaceutical industry for the Wellcome Foundation and GSK for part of his career, developing novel vaccines and other medicines. He has advised health agencies, industry, academia and regulatory agencies and is an expert on the molecular basis of infection with a focus on pathogenic mechanisms/immunity, genomics, disease tracking and antibiotic resistance.
He is currently president of the Microbiology Society of the UK.
Prof Dougan said: “I am delighted to receive this important recognition for my work and the people I have worked with and for. Applying science to the benefit of people and health is what I have been working toward throughout my career. I can recommend this path to anyone.”
Prof Emily Shuckburgh OBE, from Cambridge, the professor of environmental data science and director of Cambridge Zero at the University of Cambridge, has been made a CBE for services to climate science and to the public communication of climate science.
A fellow of Darwin College, Prof Shuckburgh leads the university’s major climate change initiative, Cambridge Zero.
She said: "I am deeply honoured to accept this recognition, which is a reflection of the collective efforts of many scientists, communicators, educators, and advocates who strive every day to make climate science accurate, accessible and actionable at a time when honesty, clarity and urgency are more important than ever.”
Her primary research focuses on the application of AI to climate science and she is academic director of the Institute of Computing for Climate Science, and co-director of the UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training on the Application of AI to the study of Environmental Risks (AI4ER).
Her research also considers the nexus between climate change, biodiversity loss and societal challenges and she is co-director of the Centre for Landscape Regeneration, which takes a systems-based approach to exploring future land-use options for the UK.
She previously worked for more than a decade at the British Antarctic Survey, leading a UK national research programme on the Southern Ocean and its role in climate.
Prof Shuckburgh is also co-author with King Charles III and Tony Juniper of the Ladybird Book on Climate Change.
Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
Prof Stephen Barnett, from Peterborough, chair of North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, has been made an OBE for services to the NHS.
The trust runs Hinchingbrooke, Peterborough City, and Stamford and Rutland Hospitals, along with a number of community hospitals - The Princess of Wales at Ely, Doddington and North Cambridgeshire Hospital.
He joined the trust on 1 April, 2022, after serving as chair at Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn NHS Foundation Trust since 2018 and previously at West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust. He has more than 30 years’ experience working in senior positions in the NHS and related bodies, at local and national level, and is also chair of the council of governors at North West Anglia.
The Reverend Canon Dr Malcolm Brown, from Cambridge, lately director of faith and public life for the Church of England, has been made an OBE for services to the public witness of the Church of England.
He was responsible for the team leading the church’s response to issues of political and social life and public ethics.
With a background in political economy and Christian ethics, his interests have included the ethical implications of AI, machine learning and big tech and he has been an honorary lecturer in the Department of Computer Sciences at the University of Bath and visiting professor in theology and religious studies at the University of Winchester.
He also supports the clergy team at St John the Evangelist Church, Waterbeach and All Saints' Church, Landbeach.
Prof Christopher Clapham, retired professor, The Centre of African Studies at the University of Cambridge, has been made an OBE in the Overseas and International List for services to academia, foreign policy, and UK relations with the Horn of Africa.
Prof Stephen May, from Royston, emeritus professor at Royal Veterinary College (RVC), has been made an OBE for services to veterinary education and animals in science.
He graduated as a veterinary surgeon from the University of Cambridge in 1980 before training as a clinician-researcher and earning his PhD from the RVC. His teaching career began at the University of Liverpool before he returned to the RVC in 1993 as a professor of equine medicine and surgery.
He has held many positions in three decades there, transforming the RVC’s equine hospital, doubling caseload and clinician numbers, before becoming vice principal for teaching and later deputy principal and senior vice principal. He has served as president of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS), the European Board of Veterinary Specialisation and the European College of Veterinary Surgeons.
Vaibhav Puri, from St Neots, director of sector strategy and transformation at the Rail Safety and Standards Board, has been made an OBE for services to rail safety and standards.
Kirsty Smith, chief executive of Cambridge-based charity CBM UK, has been made an OBE in the King’s Birthday Honours Overseas and International List for outstanding services to people living with disabilities.
The honour recognises Kirsty’s deep commitment to international development and her leadership in driving inclusive, sustainable change for some of the world’s most marginalised communities.
Under Kirsty’s leadership, CBM UK has significantly expanded its impact, restoring sight, improving health, and independence for millions of individuals and advocating globally for the rights and voices of people with disabilities.
“This recognition is truly an honour, but it also belongs to the incredible teams, partners, and communities around the world who are working every day to break down barriers and build a more inclusive future. I’m proud to be part of a movement that believes everyone, everywhere, deserves the opportunity to thrive,” she said.
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Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
Angela Dixon, from Whittlesford, chief executive officer at Saffron Hall, has been made an MBE for services to music education and the performing arts.
Angela said: “I was quite amazed, amazed but delighted, and also very pleased for the organisation that I work for and all the staff there, because I think it's also recognition of the work that they do as well.”
Saffron Hall is an award-winning £10million, 740-seat performance space in the grounds of Saffron Walden County High School, with critically acclaimed acoustic and state-of-the-art facilities that are considered better than many of the world’s more established venues.
Since opening in November 2013, it has hosted artists including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Maxim Vengerov, Penguin Cafe, Nicola Benedetti, Courtney Pine and the Sixteen.
Angela, who was previously head of music at The Barbican and its classical music programmer before that, has worked at Saffron Hall for more than 11 years.
She grew up in Benfleet and Leigh-on-Sea before moving to London after her degree.
“I did a music degree and I went to the Junior Royal Academy of Music,” she says. “I play classical guitar, clarinet and piano - but very, very badly. Anyone that's heard me play would agree!"
Saffron Hall works closely with schools in Essex and Cambridgeshire.
"We run a music and dementia project on a Friday with the Cambridge Institute of Music Therapy Research at Anglia Ruskin University, who are our partners in that,” says Angela.
ARU also partners Saffron Hall on another dementia project, titled Together in Sound.
As CEO, Angela sets the organisation's artistic direction and oversees the whole programme - including its schools and community work.
She thanked her colleagues from over the years "who have contributed so much to whatever we may have achieved".
Susan Raven, from St Neots, principal of The Centre School, in Cottenham, has been made an MBE for services to children with social, emotional and mental health needs.
“I am very pleased that the work of The Centre School and its staff - and the achievement of our young people - have been recognised by the King,” Susan told the Cambridge Independent. “All children deserve an excellent education and I truly believe we give every student at The Centre School the very best start to their adult life. I would like to thank everyone who works, volunteers and visits The Centre School for all their continued support.”
The Centre School is a secondary SEMH special school for children aged 11-19.
Rowena Hackwood, CEO of Astrea Academy Trust which runs The Centre School, added: “Sue has worked incredibly hard to provide her students with a brilliant environment to go to school, giving children a place to learn and to build positive relationships and setting them up for bright futures.”
Monaser Shahzad, known as Mona Shah, from Ely, the founder and managing director of Harry Specters, has been made an MBE for services to training and employment for young people with autism.
Inspired by her autistic son Ash, Mona established the chocolate business to create a future where neurodivergent people were seen, not sidelined.
Championing autistic people in the workplace, Ely-based Harry Specters says its has created more than £283,127 worth of social value.
Mona said: “I’m deeply honoured to receive this recognition - it means so much not just for me, but for every autistic young person we’ve had the privilege to support. I hope it inspires other entrepreneurs and businesses to see that purpose and profit can go hand in hand.”
Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM)
Mujahid Khan, from Huntingdon, has been awarded a British Empire Medal for services to the development, practice and teaching of Tang Soo Do.
The 68-year-old has inspired generations of martial artists in the UK and across Europe, since his time as a student of the UK Tang Soo Do, Moo Do Kwan Federation in 1974.
Promoted to black belt in 1977, he joined the World Tang Soo DO Association in 1984, being promoted to master in 1989 and then, at the 2022 World Championships, assistant grandmaster in 2022 - becoming only the 4th person to achieve that rank. Team GB was successful in winning the male and female Grand Champion titles for the first time at the championships.
He opened his first club in 1981 and created and led the GB Tang Soo Do Association. He was named the UK Chief Instructor in 1985, Instructor of the Year in 1987 and Director of Region 11 in 1988 and Master of the Year in 2000.
Mujahid’s achievements have also been recognised by the Combat and Fighters Hall of Fame where he was inducted in 2011 for his dedication to the development of martial arts in the UK and globally.
He has trained and taught for nearly 50 years and guided and promoted more than 80 masters and more than 1,200 black belts in UK and Europe.
He has also been an active member of the Muslim community, including as chairman of the Huntingdon Mosque for nearly 15 years where he was responsible for improving local community relations.
Barbara Page, from Cambridge, was awarded a British Empire Medal for services to women in Cambridgeshire
Linda Taylor, from Royston, founder of Turnford Gymnastics Club, was awarded a British Empire Medal for services to gymnastics and the community in East Hertfordshire.
Laurie Woolfenden was awarded a British Empire Medal for services to the community in Fen Ditton.
