Transgender ex-RAF navigator from Lincolnshire gets New Year Honour

Former RAF navigator Caroline Paige becomes an MBE

A transgender former RAF navigator and the boss of Lincolnshire's International Bomber Command Centre (IBCC) are among those receiving 2024 New Year Honours.

Caroline Paige, who served in the RAF for 35 years, becomes an MBE following her work to support LGBTQ+ veterans.

Nicky van der Drift, chief executive of the IBCC near Lincoln, is appointed an OBE for "services to heritage".

They are among people from across Lincolnshire recognised with honours.

Nicky van der Drift, chief executive of the International Bomber Command Centre, is appointed an OBE

Speaking to BBC Look North, Ms Paige dedicated her award to those who had helped "deliver change" to the Armed Forces.

She said: "We're seeing incredible change for the veterans. We're working closely with all of the Armed Forces and they are really keen to show support as well."

Ms Paige, who joined the RAF in 1980, served 19 years as a male navigator pilot then another 16 years after transitioning, becoming the first transgender officer to serve openly in the British Armed Forces.

In 2000, the UK ban on gay and bisexual people in the military was lifted and extended to transgender members in 2014.

Ms Paige described her life prior to transitioning.

She said: "If you were outed, everything came crashing down, you'd be immediately removed [from the Armed Forces]. Overnight, you'd lose your job, your income, your friends, your accommodation, your family in most cases.

"I had this amazing job on fighter aircraft but all the time I was having to hide who I was."

Ms Paige said she set up the charity Fighting With Pride to support those in a similar position she found herself in.

"The Armed Forces charities that they went to wouldn't support them because they were dismissed in disgrace," she said.

"They have lived with that, made to feel ashamed of themselves, or told they had brought shame on their regiment, or their ship, or their squadron."

Other people from Lincolnshire named on the honours list include:

• Anne Brewster, from the Department for Work and Pensions, who is appointed an MBE for services to the welfare of older people

• Julie Spencer, head of the Student Wellbeing Service at University of Lincoln, who becomes an MBE for services to education

• Philip Graham Wynn, chair of Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF), who is appointed an OBE for services to farming and the environment

• Dr Leonard Malcolm Lofts, chief executive, Northam Care Trust who is appointed an OBE for services to people with disabilities

• Nicholas David Leader, becomes an OBE for public service

The International Bomber Command Centre near Lincoln

Ms van der Drift, the chief executive of the IBCC near Lincoln, said she was "enormously proud" to be appointed an OBE for services to heritage.

She also said she was "a bit humbled", adding: "What we are doing is nothing compared to what those men and women went through during the war. It is so important we continue to tell their story and make sure what they did is never forgotten, so this is a mark for them really."

Describing the moment she received notification of her OBE in the post, Ms van der Drift said: "I almost thought someone was playing a trick, actually, then I re-read the letter and thought 'no, it does look quite official', so yes, completely astounded." She said the honour reflected "a huge team effort" from all at IBCC, which saw record visitor numbers in 2023.