New Year’s Honours 2023: Every person in Liverpool and Merseyside to be recognised by King Charles III

The 2023 recipients include actor Stephen Graham, a local bus driver, bar owner and the founder of The Anthony Walker Foundation.
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The New Year Honours List 2023 marks the incredible public service of individuals from across the UK.

Recipients in the King Charles’ first New Year Honours List have been awarded for their outstanding contributions across all parts of the UK for their work on areas including sustained public service, youth engagement and community work.

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Key members of the England Lionesses football team are also honoured after their outstanding performance in the summer. Squad captain Leah Williamson receives an OBE, while star player Lucy Bronze, golden boot Beth Mead, and England women’s top international goal scorer Ellen White are all awarded MBE.

Actor Stephen Graham has been awarded an OBE. Image: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for BFIActor Stephen Graham has been awarded an OBE. Image: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for BFI
Actor Stephen Graham has been awarded an OBE. Image: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for BFI

The honours system strives to be inclusive of all of the UK society. Of the 1,107 people on the main list who received an award, 955 candidates have been selected at BEM, MBE and OBE level.

548 women are recognised in the list, representing 50% of the total, and 60% of recipients are people who are recognised primarily for have undertaken outstanding work in their communities either in a voluntary or charitable capacity.

Of those receiving honours, over twenty are Merseyside people, recognised for their contributions to society, such as services to education, healthcare, transport and policing. Several recipients are recognised for their services during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Merseyside People

The King’s Police Medal

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‘Awarded for acts of exceptional courage and skill at the cost of their lives, or exhibiting conspicuous devotion to duty.’

Awarded to Paul Anthony Costello Sergeant, Merseyside Police.

The King’s Ambulance Service Medal

‘Generally awarded to members of the ambulance service who have completed over 10 years good conduct and exemplary service.”

Awarded to Salman Desai, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Director of Strategy, Partnerships and Transformation, North West Ambulance Service.

Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)

Stephen Graham - Actor. For services to Drama.

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Elaine Margaret Clarke, Founder, Baa Bar, Liverpool. For services to Hospitality.

Susan Julie Higginson, Principal and Chief Executive, Wirral Metropolitan College, Birkenhead, Merseyside. For services to Further Education.

Karen Anne Howell, Chief Executive, Wirral Community Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust. For services to Healthcare.

Robert O’Connor, Deputy Director, Disability Services, Department for Work and Pensions. For Public Service (Bootle).

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Sara Louise Gilroy Williams, Chief Executive, Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce and Industry Limited. For services to the Community in Staffordshire (Liverpool).

Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)

Nigel Wiliam Goodband, Detective Sergeant, British Transport Police and Chair, British Transport Police Federation. For services to Policing (Formby).

Lance Owen Grundy, Prison Work Coach, Department for Work and Pensions. For Public Service (Liverpool).

Gillian Rosalind Jones, Lately His Majesty’s Inspector and Deputy Director of Schools and Early Years, Ofsted. For services to Education (Wirral).

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Susan Elizabeth Murphy, Mayor, St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council. For Public and Political Service.

Carol Ann Hamblet, Director, Transforming Choice. For services to Vulnerable People (Widnes).

June Simm, Chair of Governors, Emmaus Church of England and Catholic Primary School, Liverpool. For services to Education.

Dr Verona Gee Walker, Founder and Patron, The Anthony Walker Foundation. For services to Diversity and Racial Injustice (Liverpool).

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Pauline Weatherall, Digital Atlas Manager, National Oceanography Centre. For services to Bathymetry (Liverpool).

Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM)

Neil Atherton, Bus Driver, Arriva North West and Wales. For services to Public Transport and to the community in Liverpool and Widnes during Covid-19.

Neil also walked 105 miles this year, to raise money for those struggling during the cost-of-living crisis.

Jane Eleanor Culkin, Customer Compliance Group, HM Revenue and Customs. For services to Autism and Neurodiversity Awareness (Liverpool).

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Vernon Rudolph Davis, Coach, Bridgefield Swimming Club. For services to Swimming in Liverpool.

Rachael Louise Fraser, Registered Manager, Caring Connections Limited. For services to Vulnerable People, particularly during Covid-19 (Widnes).

Toni Hanlon-Crown, Work Group Leader, Child Maintenance Group, Department for Work and Pensions. For services to the community in Merseyside and to the Covid-19 Response (Wirral).

Sandra Roscoe: For voluntary and charitable services to the community in Rainhill and St Helens, Merseyside during Covid-19.

Teresa Josephine Smith: For services to Thalidomide Patients and Research in Merseyside (Southport).