New Year Honours 2024: Surgeon and lollipop lady among recipients

Prof Peter Giannoudis is appointed an MBE as part of the New Year Honours

A Leeds surgeon who has carried out more than 10,000 operations is among the people across Yorkshire to be recognised in the New Year Honours.

Leeds and England rugby league players Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield have been appointed CBEs for their fundraising.

Meanwhile, the head of a youth organisation in South Yorkshire and the president of a Hull cycling club have both received honours.

A long-serving lollipop lady in North Yorkshire has also been recognised.

In total, this year's New Year Honours list includes over 80 recipients from across Yorkshire.

In West Yorkshire, Prof Peter Giannoudis, 62, a professor of trauma and orthopaedics at the University of Leeds, has been appointed an MBE.

In 2014, he founded the Day One Trauma Support charity at Leeds General infirmary, which provides emotional and financial support to people left with serious injuries after crashes and other incidents.

He also created a world famous orthopaedic department at the University of Leeds, with his work said to have largely brought about the introduction of dedicated trauma hospitals throughout England.

Kevin Sinfield (left) and Rob Burrow have been appointed CBEs in the New Year Honours

Prof Giannoudis said he hoped his honour would help raise awareness of the effect catastrophic crashes can have on people's lives.

"This is recognition not just for me, but also the unit and my family and colleagues. I couldn't achieve anything without those around me," he added.

Prof Giannoudis said his "big aspiration" now was to convince the government to "nominate a special day each year to raise awareness of crashes and the major trauma they cause, in order to reduce mortality on the roads".

Also in the New Year Honours list, former rugby league players Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield have both been made CBEs for services to motor neurone disease (MND) awareness.

Burrow won eight Super League titles with Leeds Rhinos and represented Great Britain and England before he announced at the age of 37 in 2019 that he had been diagnosed with MND.

Earlier this month, inspired by his former Leeds team-mate, Sinfield battled through a gruelling schedule of seven ultramarathons in as many days in seven different cities around Britain and Ireland.

His latest fundraising challenge to help people living with MND raised more than £1m, and since Burrow's diagnosis Sinfield has raised millions for charity.

Betty Philipson, 92, receives a British Empire Medal for services to cycling

In East Yorkshire, Betty Philipson has received a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to cycling and to the community.

The 92-year-old is president of the City Road Club in Hull, which she helped form in 1966.

Ms Philipson, who is still an active member of the club which has become one of the leading cycling clubs in Yorkshire, said she was "quite amazed, really".

"It was a shock. You don't think about what you've done," she added.

"I still organise the annual dinner and attend all the races and do timekeeping. I don't sit back and relax.

"You do it because you want to. It keeps you going and means you have lots of friends."

Her son, Mark Philipson, 67, said: "Mum's been connected with cycling all her life. I'm very proud of her.

"She can't get around as much as she used to, but is still very active and does as much as she can."

Howard Wilkinson, Sheffield-born former Leeds United manager, is appointed an OBE

In South Yorkshire, Sheffield-born Howard Wilkinson, former manager of Leeds United, has been appointed an OBE for services to association football and to charity.

The 80-year-old was the last English manager to win the league with Leeds United back in 1992, when the competition was still known as the First Division.

He is currently chairman of the League Managers Association.

Also recognised in the New Year Honours is Samuel Jozef Oldroyd, 43, from Sheffield, who has received a BEM for services to young people and families in the Rother Valley.

Mr Oldroyd is chief executive officer of the JADE Youth and Community charitable organisation.

He said he had set it up in 1998 after realising there was "nothing in the area for young people to do".

Speaking of the honour, he said: "I'm over the moon. It's amazing isn't it?

"I love doing what we do and it's nice when it's recognised at such a high level."

Samuel Jozef Oldroyd has provided food parcels to families and ensured they have gas, electricity and IT access

Meanwhile, in North Yorkshire, Carl Les, the leader of North Yorkshire Council, has been appointed an OBE.

Mr Les led the process which culminated earlier this year in the eight former councils in North Yorkshire becoming unified in one authority.

He said: "Like many endeavours, you can only achieve the best for people and businesses in local government through team effort.

"While I am delighted, though humbled, to receive such an award, I see it as a reflection of the teams I have had the privilege to lead."

Mr Les has been a member of the county's police authority for 15 years and now chairs the Police and Crime Panel.

North Yorkshire's longest serving lollipop lady, Mary Margaret Rose Fisher, 88, has also been honoured.

Ms Fisher, who retired in December 2022 after shepherding pupils to school in Summerbridge, near Harrogate, for nearly half a century, was awarded a BEM for services to child road safety.

Mary Fisher helped children across the road more than 18,000 times, it is estimated

Another recipient of a BEM is David Alwyn Town, 74, from Northallerton, who has been recognised for services to bell-ringing in Northallerton and Hambleton.

Mr Town has been a bell-ringer since he was 11 years old and has held the position of Tower Captain in Northallerton for over 50 years.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said this year's New Year Honours list "recognises the exceptional achievements of people and those who have shown the highest commitment to selflessness and compassion".

"To all honourees, you are the pride of this country and an inspiration to us all," he said.