Honours awarded to people in SW

Sports starts, community volunteers and people involved in entertainment across Devon & Cornwall are recognised in the Queen's New Year Honours.

Ben Ainslie today said it was an ``incredible honour'' to receive a knighthood in the New Year Honours for services to sailing. 

The 35-year-old said he had never even thought of becoming Sir Ben Ainslie when he started sailing as a teenager 20 years ago. The knighthood caps an incredible year in which he retired from Olympic competition after winning his fourth gold in the waters around Weymouth and Portland before switching his attention to British success at the America's Cup. 

Ainslie said: ``This is an incredible honour. When I set out Olympic sailing twenty years ago, I never would have dreamt this would happen. I couldn't have achieved this honour without the support of all the people who have helped me throughout my career and so I hope they can also take some pride in this moment.'' 

Either side of winning his gold medal, Ainslie was the first person to carry the Olympic torch in the UK and carried the Union Flag at the closing ceremony of the Games.

Olympics 2012 medal-winning equestrian Mary King has been recognised, King represented Team GB for the sixth time in the Olympics and has been appointed MBE and Helen Glover, from Penzance, half of the rowing pair who won Team GB's first gold of the Olympics, becomes an MBE.

People from across Devon and Cornwall get recognised for their work.

A woman whose husband was killed in a boating tragedy off Cornwall 30 years ago has been recognised for her tireless efforts in promoting the work of lifeboat crews. Janet Madron, from Mousehole, lost her husband Stephen in the Penlee lifeboat disaster of 1981, which killed all those on board both the stricken 300-ton coaster Union Star and the Solomon Browne lifeboat, as the boats battled in atrocious conditions. 

Mrs Madron had been a volunteer for around a decade before the tragedy, and has continued her work to this day in an effort to help lifeboat crews access the best possible safety equipment. The modest 64-year-old, chairman of the Penlee RNLI Ladies Guild, kept her honour - becoming a British Empire Medal (BEM) recipient - a secret from her mother and two children until the eve of the announcement. She said: ``To me, my work is something I just enjoy.

OBE 

Ms Carleen Tina Kelemen. Director, Convergence Partnership Office for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. For services to Social Justice and Economic Inclusion. (South Brent, Devon) 

Mrs Monika Kinley. Art Dealer and Artists' Agent. For services to the Visual Arts. (Plymouth, Devon) 

Professor Brian William Golding. Scientific Fellow, Meteorological Office. For services to Weather Forecasting and the Prediction of Hazardous Weather. (Sidmouth, Devon) 

MBE

Mrs Jean Kathleen Ann Bradford. Founder, South Devon Seabird Trust. For services to Animal Welfare. (Teignmouth, Devon) 

Dr Melissa Hardie-Budden. For services to Heritage and the Arts in West Cornwall. (Cornwall) 

Julian Michael Crow. Regional manager, West of England, First Great Western. For services to the Rail Industry. (Newton Ferrers, Devon) 

Mrs Marilyn Joy Kelly. For charitable services in Newton Abbot, Devon. (Newton Abbot, Devon) 

Nicholas Lewis. Formerly Deputy chief executive, South West Regional Development Agency. For services to the Economy in the South West. (Crediton, Devon) 

Mrs Lugina Oates. For services to the community in West Cornwall. (Redruth, Cornwall) 

Mrs Angela Jean O'Brien. For services to Drama in the South West. (Plymouth, Devon) 

Kevin Penhale. Customs Officer, Border Force, Home Office. For services to Border Protection. (Liskeard, Cornwall) 

David Rees. Aviation Operational Analyst, CORDA Consulting. For services to Defence Capability. (Devon) 

BRITISH EMPIRE MEDAL - BEM 

Mrs Lynn Andrea Bartlett. For services to the community in Polruan, Cornwall. (Fowey, Cornwall) 

Mrs Ann Margaret Barwood. For voluntary services to Exeter Cathedral. (Exminster, Devon) 

Mrs Alison Bevan. Director, Penlee House, Penzance. For services to Cultural Heritage in Cornwall. (Penzance, Cornwall) 

Mrs Dorothy May Fisher. Fundraiser, RSPCA. For services to Animal Welfare and the community in Cornwall. (Camborne, Cornwall) 

Michael Harvey Gee. For services to Orchard Conservation in North Devon. (Barnstaple, Devon) 

Mrs Susan Christine Holland. For services to the community in Lydford, Devon. (Okehampton, Devon) 

Mrs Amanda Elizabeth Kimmins. For services to the community of St. Agnes, Cornwall. (St Agnes, Cornwall) 

Mrs Phyllis Janet Madron. Fundraiser, RNLI Penlee and Penzance. For services to Maritime Safety. (Penzance, Cornwall) 

Mrs Diana Nicholls. For services to the community in Newton Abbot, South Devon. (Newton Abbot, Devon) 

Michael John Pitt. For services to the Royal Air Force and to the community in Woolacombe Devon. (Woolacombe, Devon) 

Mrs Pamela Molly Richards. For services to the community in Foxhole, Cornwall. (St Austell, Cornwall) 

Mrs Doris Amy May Russell. For services to the community in Colaton Raleigh, East Devon. (Sidmouth, Devon)

Mrs Barbara Snowling. For services to the community in Crafthole, Cornwall. (Torpoint, Cornwall) 

Mrs Lorraine Anne Tucker. For voluntary service to The City of Plymouth Children Fund and to the community in Devon. (Torquay, Devon)

 Mrs Irene Alice Wills. For services to the Pisces Swimming Club and to the community in Plymouth, Devon. (Plymouth, Devon)