New Year Honours 2024: Retired Essex firefighter awarded BEM

Pauline Holden will receive a BEM following her career at Essex County Fire and Rescue Service and the RAF

A retired firefighter said she thought it was a "joke" when she was named in the King's New Year Honours list.

Pauline Holden, of Great Baddow, Essex, worked as a nurse in the RAF before joining Essex County Fire and Rescue Service (ECFRS) in 2001.

She will receive a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to the community.

The 55-year-old, who retired last year, said: "I was quite surprised... I never really thought about what I was doing and I did what I loved."

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Ms Holden was the third female firefighter employed at ECFRS, alongside more than 900 men.

She said she had never been daunted by being in a male-dominated environment, whether in the fire service or RAF, and was "in my element".

She worked as an instructor in breathing apparatus and incident command, teaching firefighters, crew members and officers across Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk before retiring last year.

"When I looked back it was the ability to train other people to help go and serve in the community... we are there because we want to help and make a difference, and I think every firefighter that you ask would say exactly the same," she said.

Kevin Macey has retired as a police officer, but works as the head of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate

Kevin Macey, a senior Essex Police investigator who dealt with more than 50 murders and attempted murders is to receive a BEM for services to policing and victims.

During his 47-year career, he assisted on the conviction of Gary Bennett who murdered his partner Madison Wright in July 2022, the murder of 82-year-old Cassie Quin in Brentwood, the doorstep shooting of convicted drug dealer John Ward in 2006, and the Stansted Airport hijacking in 2000.

He said: "Serious crime investigations can be hugely testing but there are fewer greater rewards than the gratitude of victims, or their families, for what we do as police officers and staff, to mitigate harm and bring people to justice."

Joseph Galliano-Doig said he was "thrilled" to be recognised

Joseph Galliano-Doig, 52, of Coggeshall, Essex, co-founded and established Queer Britain, in 2018.

He received a letter from the Cabinet Office about three weeks ago, announcing he was being appointed MBE for services to heritage, charity, diversity and inclusion.

He said the nomination was "surprising" but "very satisfying".

Mr Galliano-Doig, who has worked as a campaigner and as editor of Gay Times magazine, said creating "the UK's first LGBTQ+ museum" had filled a gap in the "cultural landscape", and to receive an honour on top of that was the "cherry on the cake".

Radio presenter James Whale, MBE, also appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in 2006 and was the sixth housemate to be evicted

Former BBC Essex radio presenter James Whale has been made an MBE for services to broadcasting and charity.

Whale, 72, rose to fame as a presenter on Metro Radio on Tyneside and Radio Aire in Leeds, which was simulcast on national television.

He was diagnosed with cancer in 2000 and had to have a kidney removed. His wife Melinda died in 2018 having been diagnosed with lung cancer and he revealed in 2020 that cancer had returned to his kidney, spine, brain and lungs.

He had formed the James Whale Kidney Fund in 2006, which merged with Kidney Cancer UK in 2015. Whale hosts a weekly podcast about his cancer journey.

Other people from Essex honoured include:

• Marc Grayston, 38, of Basildon, who runs Maru Karate Kai, a non-profit organisation that provides martial arts classes to disadvantaged children - BEM for services to disadvantaged young people and to the community in Basildon

• Richard Gregory, 54, of Basildon, who has worked for more than 40 years to improve the lives of disadvantaged adults and young people with special education needs or disabilities - BEM for services to the community in Basildon

• Michael Ballinger, 77, of Dunmow, treasurer and studio manager for Wickford and District Talking Newspaper for the Blind - BEM for services to the community in Wickford and district

• Robert Erith, 85, of Lamarsh, on the board of the Dedham Vale Society since 2003 and former chair of the Dedham Vale and Stour Valley Project - BEM for services to the environment in Dedham Vale, Essex and Suffolk

• Christopher Neil Hunter Gordon, 65, of Colchester, former chairman of Resources for Autism - MBE for services to people with autism and their families

• Donna McWilliams, 65, of Colchester, deputy group co-ordinator of Stepping Stones Play and Learn - MBE for services to early years and special needs education

• Sara Browne, 82, of Westcliff-on-Sea, former chairman of The Southend Music Festival - MBE for services to the arts and to the community in Southend-on-Sea

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