Island Residents in New Year Honours List

Wed, 30 Dec 2020

Government House has announced that Her Majesty The Queen has recognised seven people in the Isle of Man in the 2021 New Year Honours List.

 

Mr Gary Roberts QPM, Chief Constable Isle of Man Constabulary

Gary Roberts has dedicated his working life to Manx policing. As Chief Constable of the Isle of Man Constabulary, he has shown strategic leadership, purpose, integrity and vision. He has risen to any challenge thrown at him and in the years of austerity was able to reshape the Constabulary, continually improving its performance. Despite budget cuts, crime has reduced and reached the lowest level since the 1970s making the Isle of Man arguably the safest place in the British Isles. He oversaw the transition from a police-only control room to Europe’s first fully combined joint emergency services control room. He has reintroduced community policing and is often seen on the beat himself. Chief Constable Roberts has transformed policing on the Island and is an exemplar for public service. The Queen has recognised his distinguished service with the award of the Queen’s Police Medal in the 2021 New Year Honours List.

 

Mrs Edna Clarke BEM

The Queen has recognised Mrs Edna Clarke’s outstanding service to the Manx community with the award of a British Empire Medal in the New Year Honours List, 2021. Mrs Clarke has given and continues to give her energy and support to a wide range of activities and charitable causes on the Isle of Man. She has been an active volunteer for well over 30 years for Armed Forces charities and organisations. Her enthusiasm for the annual Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal has been described as “irresistible”. Mrs Clarke is a former patient escort with a record of over 500 journeys accompanying ill people off-Island. Locally, her passion for her home town of Ramsey is inspiring; her boundless energy is put to good use across the town’s community.

 

Mr Charles Guard MBE

Mr Charles Guard is an author, composer, musician, historian, filmmaker and broadcaster who seems as comfortable filming the landscape of the Isle of Man from a helicopter as he is documenting Victorian sewers. His passion for Manx heritage and culture is unquestionable. During his different roles at Manx Radio he has made an enduring contribution to public service broadcasting on the Island. Throughout his career he has saved historic buildings and promoted Manx traditions and history. His wide-ranging and long standing contributions were recognised by the Isle of Man Newspapers Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018 and the following year he was awarded the Tynwald Honour. For his outstanding service to culture and heritage on the Isle of Man, Charles Guard is made an MBE in The Queen’s New Year Honours List, 2021.

 

Mr John Riley MBE

Throughout his working life as a teacher then a headmaster, Mr John Riley dedicated his time, talents and energy to charities and organisations in the Isle of Man and beyond. In retirement he devotes many hours a week to at least eight charities. He is a gifted musician and conductor who shows commitment to everything in which he is involved. He has led and organised the Promenade Summer Concerts for many years but is equally likely to be seen setting out the chairs for the audience as he is conducting the choirs and orchestras, playing the piano and singing. He has been described as the lynch pin that holds everything together and an invaluable contributor to the Island’s community for over 40 years. His commitment has reached Nepal where over a period of 10 years he raised £250,000 for an orphanage, and was on the ground helping to build a school for the children of a remote village in the Himalayas. John Riley is awarded an MBE in The Queen’s 2021 New Year Honours List for outstanding contribution to charities of the Isle of Man and Nepal.

 

COVID-19 Honours

 

Mrs Jane Glover MBE

Mrs Jane Glover is heavily involved in the community of the south of the Isle of Man. She is the chair of the recently combined local authority of Rushen and Arbory Parishes. With the emerging threats of COVID-19 during March 2020, she recognised the wider role required of parish authorities in supporting the most vulnerable residents. She created and led an army of local volunteers who helped those self-isolating, shielding or quarantined at home, and organised the successful introduction of a traffic light system of display cards for residents to indicate what support they needed. As well as her leadership in the parishes, she worked with the Southern Community Initiative, island-wide community groups and her local church. For exceptional community service in Rushen and Arbory during the COVID-19 crisis, Mrs Jane Glover is made an MBE in The Queen’s New Year Honours List, 2021.

 

Mr Christian Varley MBE

Mr Christian Varley ran his way into Manx sporting history in May 2020 by running 19 marathons on 19 consecutive days, fundraising for the Manx Solidarity Fund which was set up to help those struggling financially as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. During lockdown on the Island, his endeavours raised spirits and sparked the public’s imagination. After his first marathon solo, managing spontaneous support for Christian became a challenge in its own right. The physical and mental demands he faced during the 19 days were significant. During the early stages of the challenge, he was injured and in pain; however, his mission to inspire others and prove to himself that he could achieve the extraordinary feat carried him through. Whilst his daily sub-four hour marathons were publically visible, to achieve them he had to go through a gruelling 18 hour daily schedule. Finishing at Tynwald Hill on 19 May, he inspired a nation by running 500 miles in 19 days, and raising over £100,000. For inspirational fundraising efforts during the COVID-19 response on the Isle of Man, Mr Christian Varley is made an MBE in The Queen’s New Year Honours List, 2021.

 

Mrs Susan Waddecar MBE

Stepping out of her normal duties within the Department of Health and Social Care, Mrs Sue Waddecar was chosen to lead the nursing team at Abbotswood after it suffered an outbreak of the virus. As a senior and well-qualified nurse, she quickly earned the respect and trust of her colleagues and the residents of the home. She took overall responsibility at an exceptionally sad and challenging time. She had unwavering empathy and compassion for residents, their families and the staff. For outstanding service to the Isle of Man during the COVID-19 crisis, Mrs Susan Waddecar is made an MBE in The Queen’s New Year Honours List, 2021.

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