New Year Honours List 2026: Meet the inspirational Shropshire folk honoured by the King for helping others in diverse ways

The Shropshire representatives on this year's list include two OBEs, five MBEs, and eight recipients of the British Empire Medal.

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The Lord-Lieutenant of Shropshire, Anna Turner, said the awards were deserved recognition for county residents who have done something special - be it in public service or making life better for others.

She said: "It is a proud moment for our county that 15 Shropshire citizens have been recognised for their contributions to such a wide range of causes. I would like to congratulate them all for their efforts.

She added: "These medals are only given to a small proportion of people who have either achieved something exceptional in public life or selflessly made life better for others. It is a proud moment for all of us, and I would like to congratulate them all for their incredible efforts.”

We spoke to some of those who have been recognised to get their thoughts:

The heritage guru who helped preserve the Ironbridge Gorge's history for 30 years

Traci Dix-Williams, of Madeley, has received the MBE for services to heritage.

Most recently Mrs Dix-Williams was chief executive of the Dudley Canal and Tunnel Trust, a position she held for eight years before stepping down around 12 months ago.

Prior to that she had been part of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust for 30 years, starting in the costume department and finishing as operations director in 2017.

Mrs Dix-Williams, who is 60 and has lived in Telford since she was 10 years old, said it was an emotional moment realising that she was going to receive an MBE.

She said: "I cried! I had no idea I had been nominated so initially when I saw the envelope I thought I was being called up for jury duty and I thought 'no, not just before Christmas'. But when I opened the envelope and saw what it was I just cried - and I am not a crier!"

Mrs Dix-Williams, who was brought in at Dudley as the organisation transitioned to a heritage attraction from a canal society, credited her time at Ironbridge as the perfect preparation.

She said: "I had the most amazing cultural and heritage apprenticeship at Ironbridge."

Speaking about her time at the Dudley Canal and Tunnel Trust she said: "It was great. I am not going to say it was not without its challenges - it was not a financially rich organisation - but the culture change, everyone was really open to it and a small team of people really stepped up."

Mrs Dix-Williams said the organisation was even able to cope with the Covid pandemic, which had a huge impact on many heritage attractions.

She said: "We had Covid and so many attractions had to close but we really managed to come through Covid well."

She added: "We were lucky we had projects that were sat waiting to be done and, as devastating as Covid was, it gave us the time to put that into place."

Mrs Dix-Williams said she was delighted to have been recognised but added: "I am thrilled, but I feel very guilty - I have had a 40-year career in something I have loved.

"Also, there are a lot of other people who got me here today."

Mrs Dix-Williams said she would continue to be passionate about safeguarding the country's heritage - and sharing it.

She said: "I can never understand anyone who is not interested in our history: it is not just the past, it helps you understand today and the future. And if you don't care for these places and get something from them, then they will go."

The Army veteran who lost his sight and became a role model for others - and a skilled archer

Clive Jones of Market Drayton has received the MBE for services to blind veterans.

Mr Jones, a former Welsh Guardsman who served in the Army for 12 years, lost his sight in 2000 and since then has become a role model for injured veterans, overcoming significant personal challenges to rebuild his life and dedicating himself to helping others.

He has been a member of Blind Veterans UK for 25 years, and serves as the first point of contact for new members, providing crucial mentorship and support to help them as they adjust to sight loss.

Mr Jones, who is 51, has raised more than £140,000 for various charities, including Blind Veterans UK and local causes.

He has also contributed to the community through initiatives such as the installation of a defibrillator and making lanyards for the NHS.

His dedication has been recognised with numerous accolades, including being a finalist for the Pride of Britain awards, receiving two certificates of commendation from the Duke of Kent, and being made an Honorary Townsman of Market Drayton.

He has also achieved significant success in blind archery, competing in the World Para Archery Championships and achieving a world ranking of fourth, and uses his sporting platform to motivate others.

Reacting to the news he was receiving the honour he said: "I was shocked to be honest - and I still am to be quite frank!

"It came completely and utterly out of the blue as you can appreciate, it really did take me by surprise because obviously I never expected anything like this and it is a wonderful surprise."

Mr Jones said he was hugely proud at the recognition, but said he was just doing what he believes is right.

He said: "What I do to help others is what I would expect them to do for me, I just do it because it is a normal, day-to-day thing for me.

"With regards to the fundraising it has always been something I do, I like to raise money for those less fortunate, that is what I always enjoyed doing and to be honest with you it is something I will always continue to do."

He added: "I do not do what I do for recognition, I do it purely to try and make a difference where and when I can."

Mr Jones said that the news had been 'phenomenal', adding: "It has made mine and the family's Christmas."

The man who coordinates charitable efforts in Bridgnorth all year round

Keith Bowley from Bridgnorth has received the MBE for services to the community.

Mr Bowley, who is 76, has provided dedicated voluntary service to Bridgnorth for the past 30 years - most recently serving as chair of Bridgnorth Community Trust, which was set up 12 years ago.

The organisation was set up as a Christian charity to enable Christians, and others, to serve the people of Bridgnorth and the surrounding areas through various projects.

The projects include Bridgnorth Food Bank, led by Liz Bird; the Debt Centre, led by Mark Triggs; Bridgnorth Youth and Schools Project, led by John Prockter; and Together at Christmas, co-ordinated by Don Gibbons.

Mr Bowley said he was incredibly proud at the recognition, but was quick to point to the efforts of others in providing the services for the people of Bridgnorth.

He said: "I obviously feel very honoured to be receiving an award.

"I feel it is very much not just me really but the people who run the various projects that the charity, the community trust runs."

He added: "I sort of facilitate these things - I am sort of in the background role.

"I am the chairman of the trust, I do the admin, all the record keeping, that sort of stuff which leaves the people running the individual projects to get on with what they need to get on with."

Mr Bowley said that there had been 150 people at the Together at Christmas event this year.

Mr Bowley has also been the chair of the Bridge Youth Centre for the past 12 years and is a trustee of two other Christian ministries.

He was also an elder at the Baptist Church and a governor at Bridgnorth Endowed School for about 25 years.

Speaking about the passion behind the community trust he said: "I was involved in setting up the trust, it is a Christian charity that has been going for about 12 years and it is a vehicle really to allow the people to serve the people of Bridgnorth and the surrounding areas.

"The projects are all targeted to serve the people, the community, that is my motivation as a Christian - we use our efforts as best we are able to help other people."

The woman who lost her husband suddenly and became a campaigner for life-saving machines

Sally Angell-James has received the British Empire Medal for services to defibrillator provision.

Mrs Angell-James, who is 61 and lives near Shrewsbury, has been recognised for her work in setting up the Henry Angell-James Memorial Trust.

The charity was set up in memory of Mrs Angell-James's late husband, Henry, who died from a cardiac arrest on his way home from work in 2017.

The organisation has provided more than 100 defibrillators across the region, ensuring life-saving equipment is available to prevent tragedy.

Mrs Angell-James said she was "completely gobsmacked" when she opened the letter informing her that she would receive the BEM.

She said: "Looking at the letter I wondered what was happening, I thought I had done something wrong!"

Mrs Angell-James explained how the sudden and tragic loss of her husband had led to her setting up the charity - with the help and support of friends.

She said: "My husband, on October 30, 2017, was coming back home on his regular commute from Birmingham to Shrewsbury and had a cardiac arrest on the train and died.

"Obviously life changed overnight for me. I had a policeman who came to the door and your world's worst nightmare happened.

"I had to tell everyone and I was just in a state of shock."

Mrs Angell-James said her husband, who was a commercial property developer and had lived in Shropshire all his life, was always an incredibly positive man, who said it was vital to support smaller charities.

She said: "He can only be described as a 'glass overflowing' kind of person - you didn't just meet him, you collided with him."

The year after his death the Industrial Agents Society contacted Mrs Angell-James to say it had raised money and wanted to donate it to a charity in his name.

She said: "I thought I could have given it to the British Heart Foundation but what kept on coming back was this memory of him, he would always say 'you have to support the small charities'.

"I thought 'I am going to set up a charity' and I didn't realise quite what that meant! If you want to set up a charity it is really hard."

Mrs Angell-James said a friend called Mark Bucknell had helped to set it up, while another friend had told her the best way to use the money would be to fund defibrillators.

She said: "Henry always said the simplest ideas are the best ideas and we decided we were going to put defibrillators into communities in the West Midlands and beyond."

She added: "If you can save one life you have done your job."

The charity started working in 2019, and has now put in close to 130 defibrillators across the region.

Mrs Angell-James thanked those who have helped her, saying: "You just pootle along, it is not a big thing, it is a small charity and I have had amazing trustees and amazing friends. I am quite disorganised and they whip me into shape and it has been a massive team effort."

The tireless Alzheimer's campaigner who helped put a museum trust on the map

Katie Foster from Newport has received the British Empire Medal for charitable and voluntary service to Alzheimer's Research UK, to heritage and to the community in Shropshire.

Mrs Foster, who is 74, has been recognised for her work to help support Alzheimer's Research - as well as a career which has seen her working and volunteering in a host of roles to support heritage and tourism, specifically in Ironbridge.

Mrs Foster's career includes time spent working or volunteering for an incredible variety of vital Shropshire and West Midlands organisations.

She joined the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust in 1981 as a publicity officer, eventually taking on the post as head of marketing and PR.

During the trust's rapid period of growth through the 1980s and 1990s she helped put the organisation on the visitor map, working with the heritage and tourism sectors.

She also developed new customer care training programmes for staff and worked in tandem with the trust's development trust to identify new sponsorship and philanthropic opportunities to support museum activities.

She was responsible for producing all marketing media, including gaining the first outside broadcast for a not-for-profit organisation by the then new Classic FM and national and international PR, especially when the gorge was designated a World Heritage Site in 1986.

When she left the museum trust in 1999 she was already involved in tourism at both national and regional level as vice-chairman of the Heart of England Tourist Board and chair of the then English Tourist Board’s Commercial Members Group.

Mrs Foster also worked on the Shropshire Business Link Board, as well as the Princess Royal Hospital Trust in Telford, where she was also a volunteer hospital interpreter.

In 1999 Mrs Foster set up her own consultancy, specialising in the visitor economy and heritage, with scores of major clients across the sector.

As a speaker of Italian, French and German she also worked for UK Trade & Investment and the British Council and acted as host for visits by many overseas press and other officials including for the 2012 London Olympics.

Other roles include being a board member of Tourism West Midlands, as well as the Wrekin Tourism Association - later Telford Tourism Partnership, the Shropshire & Telford Tourism Strategy Board, and the Shropshire Business Board and the Telford Business Board. She also represented the county on Visit England’s Destination Management Forum.

She also served as a committee member and then chair of the Heritage Lottery Fund West Midlands from 2001 to 2010, and was instrumental in distributing some £12m a year across the wider region.

She chaired the Marches LEP’s Redundant Buildings Grants scheme, was a trustee of the William Penny Brookes Foundation until 2015 and was a trustee of the Shropshire Wildlife Trust from 2013 to 2021.

Locally she is a former member of the Newport Regeneration Partnership representing Newport & District Civic Society.

Mrs Foster has also raised money for Alzheimer’s Research UK on a personal level since 2008 - inspired by her own father’s death from Alzheimer’s Disease & Vascular dementia in 2007.

In 2017 together with a colleague she set up and became chair of the Alzheimer’s Research UK (ARUK) Shropshire Fundraising Group.

She is a registered ARUK speaker and is now on the charity’s national Involvement & Lived Experience panel.

Reacting to her recognition she said: "I just got a letter out of the blue and I opened it up thinking 'oh dear, what have I done?'

"I have supported and nominated people for honours before so I knew the process from that point of view, but I did not know what the process was on the receiving end.

"All the stuff I I have done, I have never ever thought that would be me, you just don't - your life is too busy, you have got kids and work so you don't ever think of that."

Mrs Foster paid tribute to the people she has worked with along the way, saying: "I have been incredibly lucky - I have had, and still have fantastic friends and colleagues."

Although she left her position at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust in 1999 Mrs Foster said her heart "is always in Ironbridge".

She said: "I will never leave Ironbridge, even though I officially left."

Speaking about her passion for supporting research into Alzheimer's she said the experience of her father, who spent five years in the Stalag VIII-B prisoner of war camp in what was then in Nazi-occupied Poland after being captured in the defence of Dunkirk, had shown her how important it is to fund research.

She said: "When my dad was at the end of life he thought he was back in the prison of war which was really, really distressing and he was really frightened, so the Alzheimer's fundraising for me is really important because I know how underfunded research is, and how vital it is."

The volunteer driver who has been giving people in need lifts for 25 years

Adrian St Clair Emery from Bayston Hill has received the British Empire Medal for voluntary service. 

Known as Andy Emery, the 88-year-old has been a resident of Shropshire for 55 years.

Mr Emery has been recognised for his work over the past 25 years with the Royal Voluntary Service.

During that time he has completed thousands of journeys as a volunteer driver, assisting individuals in need across Shropshire.

Mr Emery said that he had taken on the position when he finished working, as he wanted a voluntary position where he could continue driving, as he had for his employment.

As a result he has been selflessly helping give people lifts across the county for 25 years, including for Shropshire Good Neighbours, and Meals on Wheels, which finished in 2011.

His role has seen him taking people to hospital appointments at all of the county's hospitals in Telford, Shrewsbury, and Gobowen, as well as doctors, dentists, opticians and more.

He also takes people shopping, going into the shops to help people get what they need.

Earlier this year Mr Emery was awarded a Bronze in the Healthcare Volunteer of the Year award section of the Our Health Heroes Awards 2025, organised by Skills for Health. 

The citation issued by the cabinet office for his BEM detailed how Mr Emery goes "above and beyond by building connections with the people he supports, offering companionship and reassurance, which helps combat social isolation".

It added: "His commitment has remained unwavering even through personal health issues, and his kindness, patience, and willingness to help have transformed lives by enabling people to maintain independence and a sense of belonging."

Mr Emery, who was previously a borough councillor in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and a parish councillor, said he was stunned to hear he was being honoured by the King.

He said: "I was gobsmacked. I was utterly delighted but it was certainly very, very unexpected."

Mr Emery said he had not done the job for reward, and had just wanted to help people by doing what he could.

He said: "When you are doing a job like this you just do it because you enjoy doing it."

He added: "A lot of the people don't see anyone at all and I am probably the only person they talk to - and that has got to be a great deal of help, I think."

The full list of Shropshire honours recipients:

Officers of the Order of the British Empire

John Edward Gormley: Lately governor, HM Prison The Mount, HM Prison and Probation Service. For Public Service

Advolly Xotshiwe Taylor Richmond: Plant, garden, social historian and champion, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. For services to Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in Horticulture

Members of the Order of the British Empire

Keith Henry George Bowley: Volunteer, Bridgnorth Community Trust. For services to the community in Bridgnorth

Kathryn Anne Crewe-Read: Lately headteacher, Bishop's Stortford College. For services to Education

Tracey Annette Dix-Williams: Lately chief executive officer, Dudley Canal and Tunnel Trust. For services to Heritage

Clive Jones: Volunteer, Market Drayton. For services to Blind Veterans UK

Beverley Gail Morris: Rapid response co-ordinator, Department for Work and Pensions. For Public Service

Medallists of the Order of the British Empire

Sally Crawford Angell-James: For services to Defibrillator Provision in Shropshire

Adrian Robin Emery: Transport volunteer, Royal Voluntary Service. For Voluntary Service

Kathryn Coral Foster: For Charitable and Voluntary Service to Alzheimer's Research UK, to Heritage and to the community in Shropshire

Annabel Susan Alice Gittins: Chair, Association of Senior Children's and Education Librarians. For services to Young People

Alison Jane Humphreys: For services to people with Memory Loss and Dementia

Canon John Thomas Naylor: Music director, Nantwich Choral Society. For services to Music

Gerald Thomas Nickless: For services to the community in Shifnal, Shropshire

Scott Saunders: For services to Emergency Response and to the community in Telford