Ex-Villa chairman Doug Ellis knighted in New Year Honours
- Published
Sir Doug was Aston Villa chairman from 1968 to 1975 and 1982 to 2006
Former Aston Villa Football Club chairman Doug Ellis has received a knighthood in the New Year Honours list.
Sir Doug, who had two spells running the Premier League club, is honoured knighted for his services to charity.
Among those also honoured is the chief executive of University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Julie Moore, who becomes a dame.
Birmingham-born actor David Harewood becomes an MBE for services to drama.
Sir Doug, 87, moved to the Midlands in 1948 and initially set up a travel business offering package holidays.
During his time as chairman of Aston Villa, which spanned nearly four decades, he earned the nickname of Deadly Doug due to a reputation for sacking managers who under-performed.
Tsunami boats
He was previously made an OBE for his services to football but it is Sir Doug's charitable efforts that has been recognised this time.
"I'm so honoured, not just for me but for the people around me," he said.
"I've been involved with charities probably for 30 years.
"In my early days in my travel business I used to give package holidays for couples in the form of raffles for various charities.
"Subsequently I've supported 20 or 30 different charities with an emphasis on youth and sport, particularly in the north of Birmingham."
Sir Doug also helped raise money to fund new fishing boats for Indian villages devastated in the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004 and ensured all of them were painted claret and blue in a nod to his beloved Aston Villa.
Other people to be honoured in the West Midlands include:
CBE
Professor Karin Barber, University of Birmingham, for services to African studies
OBE
Zahoor Ahmed, chairman of Gifts International, for services to international trade
Professor Julian Marc Cooper, University of Birmingham, for services to Soviet and Russian economic studies
Paul Gould, NEC Group, for services to hospitality
June Guiness, head of policy, Forensic Science Regulation Unit, Home Office
John McCrory, Capital for Enterprise Advisory Board, for services to the venture capital market
Dr Ian Gordon McPherson, National Institute for Mental Health, for services to mental health
MBE
Derek John Alldritt, Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, Department for Work and Pensions
Margaret Anne Fraser, Stourbridge, for political service
David Lambon Heard, Birmingham, for services to the community
Vidar Paul Hjardeng, Birmingham, for services to visually impaired people and to broadcasting
Diana Holl-Allen, West Midlands Police Authority, for services to the police
Phillip Harry Holmes, JP, for services to the community
Jane Hopkins, founder of MumsClub, for services to entrepreneurship
Leslie Mosley, Solihull, for services to disabled people
Mohammed Saeed Moughal, Birmingham, for services to the community
Cornelius Francis O'Sullivan, Birmingham City Amateur Boxing Club, for services to amateur boxing
Rudolph Parkes, Stourbridge, for services to national and international fundraising and voluntary work
Maj Sylvia Ann Parkin, regional campaign director for SaBRE, Ministry of Defence
Antonina Robinson, Jobcentre Plus, Department for Work and Pensions
Douglas Smith, Swanshurst School in Billesley, for services to education
Mohamed Foiz Uddin, Birmingham, for services to community cohesion
Maureen Watkin, Wolverhampton, for voluntary service to St John Ambulance