Museum and heritage professionals recognised in King’s Birthday Honours

Museum, heritage and culture professionals from across the UK have been recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours list.

The highest accolade in the sector went to the media producer and philanthropist Dame Jenny Abramsky, who has chaired a number of cultural heritage organisations including the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the National Waterways Museum and the Canal and River Trust. She was elevated to the Knights Grand Cross Order of the British Empire.  

The historian and author Niall Ferguson received a knighthood for services to literature.

Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)

There were CBEs for Alexander Sturgis, the director of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, for services to culture, and Matthew Westerman, former chair of Imperial War Museums, for services to museums and to cultural heritage.

Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)

Sally MacDonald, the director of the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester, received an OBE for services to arts and heritage.

Michelle Charters, the recently appointed director of the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool and former chief executive of the Kuumba Imani Millennium Centre, was recognised with an OBE for services to the community in Liverpool.

Nicholas Poole, the former CEO of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, who previously led the Collections Trust, received an OBE for services to libraries, to the arts and to museums.

David Rollinson, scientific associate at the Natural History Museum, was recognised with an OBE for services to museum science and to public health.

Francis Riley, the former director of the Royal Armouries’ National Firearms Centre, received an OBE for services to military heritage.

Emma Louise Dagnes, CEO of Alexander Palace in London, and Sarah Jane MacLeod, CEO of Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust, were both awarded OBEs for services to heritage.

Tracy Borman, CEO of the Heritage Education Trust and joint chief curator at Historic Royal Palaces, also received an OBE for services to heritage.

Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)

Heather Broughton, a former committee member of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Midland and East, was recognised with an MBE for services to heritage and to the community in the midlands.

David Seers, head of sponsorship and historic environment at the Scottish Government, received an MBE for services to culture, history and the arts of Scotland.

Nicola Wynne, the director of development at St Paul's Cathedral in London, was awarded an MBE for services to heritage and to charity, particularly the Remember Me Project.

Sally McInnes, the head of unique content and collections care at the National Library of Wales, received an MBE for services to documentary history.

Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM)

Neil Williamson, curator at the Royal National Lifeboat Institution Whitby Lifeboat Museum and launching authority at Whitby Lifeboat Station, was recognised with a BEM for voluntary services to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

Peter Best, a leader in steam locomotive and canal restoration, received a BEM for services to steam and heritage railways.

Valerie Bryant, manager and trustee at Knutsford Heritage Centre in Cheshire, was awarded a BEM for services to heritage and to the community.

Joseph Cameron, former secretary and treasurer of the Royal Celtic Society, was awarded a BEM for services to cultural heritage in Scotland and to charity.

Shirley Goodhew, the chair of Chatham Dockyard Historical Society in Kent, was recognised with a BEM for services to heritage and to the community.

Roger Morgan, events team support at the Welsh Government’s heritage body, Cadw, received a BEM for services to heritage education and interpretation in Wales.