New Year Honours 1981
George Michael Sinclair Kennedy OBE
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
“For services to Music.”
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London Gazette page
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) · 1981
View this issue on the London Gazette ↗ · Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0
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Officer of the Order of the British Empire
New Year Honours 1981“For services to Music.”
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New Year Honours 1981
George Michael Sinclair Kennedy
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
“For services to Music.”
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New Year Honours 1981
George Michael Sinclair Kennedy
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
“For services to Music.”
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New Year Honours 1981
George Michael Sinclair Kennedy
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
“For services to Music.”
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In context
The bigger picture
How common is this award?
The Officer of the Order of the British Empire was awarded 274 times in the New Year Honours List 1981 — about 20% of the list.
How widely is this recognised?
4,560 people have been recognised for Arts & Culture.
Counts reflect the 1937–2026 honours lists in our records; earlier years are not yet included.
Honoured alongside them
Others awarded the Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the New Year Honours 1981
Airling Robin Hanbury-Tenison
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 1981
Chairman
Alan Maley
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 1981
Alan Robertson Gemmell
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 1981
Alexander David Macintosh Hilton
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 1981
Alexander Monteith Currie
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 1981
Secretary
Alfred Francis Ward
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 1981
Allan Norman Grut
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 1981
“for Health Education.”
Amalendu Jyoti Majumdar
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 1981
Andrew Kirkaldy Smith
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 1981
Ann Christobel Wheatley-Hubbard
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 1981
Anthony Edward Norman Black
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 1981
Corps of Royal Engineers
Anthony John BATCHELOR.
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 1981
“For political and public service.”
Archibald Orr Brennan
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 1981
“For political and public service.”
Arnold John James
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 1981
lately Vice-Chairman
Arthur Henry Etherington
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 1981
“For service to business and commerce.”
Arthur Holmes Connell
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 1981
“For services to the University of Sheffield.”
Atwell Gordon Frank Crosbie
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 1981
Royal Navy
Austin Merrills
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 1981
Chairman and Chief Executive
Austin Yorke Hill
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 1981
“For political and public service, Wessex Area.”
Avis Marjorie Adlam
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 1981
“For public services in Huntingdon.”
Barnabas for Nurses.
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 1981
“for Nurses.”
Beatrice Brysson Whyte
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 1981
Bernard Cardain Frost
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 1981
Bernard Marcus
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 1981
In the same field
Others recognised for Arts & Culture
Across the 1937–2026 honours lists in our records, 4,560 people have been recognised for Arts & Culture. See the full list →
Malorie Blackman
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to Literature.”
Cerys Matthews,
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Bourne End, Buckinghamshire
“For services to Music.”
Mukesh Sharma
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Newtownabbey, County Antrim
“For services to Heritage.”
Julia Catherine Donaldson
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Horsham, West Sussex
“For services to Literature.”
Richard Starrs
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Stockton on Tees, North Yorkshire
“For services to Heritage.”
Adam Joolia
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Brighton, East Sussex
“For services to Young People and to Music.”
Julia Jones
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Carmarthenshire, Dyfed
“For services to Music.”
Margaret Irvine
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Birsay, Orkney
“For services to Drama and to the community in Orkney.”
Shirley Henderson (shirley Mcgill)
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Aberdeen, City of Aberdeen
“For services to Drama.”
James Fraser
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Dunblane, Stirling and Falkirk
“For services to Tourism and Heritage in the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.”
John Fannon
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Weymouth, Dorset
“For services to Heritage.”
Helen Fannon
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Weymouth, Dorset
“For services to Heritage.”
Daniel Crow
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Southampton, Hampshire
“For services to Artists and to Arts and Heritage.”
David Cottle
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Swansea, West Glamorgan
“For services to Jazz Music.”
Rebecca Chapman
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Norwich, Norfolk
“For services to Inclusive Theatre.”
Marilyn Blieck
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Prestwick, Ayrshire and Arran
“For services to Music and to the community in Ayrshire.”
Christopher Gaze
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
“For services to British Arts and Culture in Canada.”
Stephen Watson
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Belfast, City of Belfast
“For services to Broadcasting and to Kidney Transplant Awareness and to Fundraising in Northern Ireland.”
Iain Varah
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Dunmow, Essex
“For services to Public Libraries, Culture and Leisure.”
Peter Talbot
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Eastbourne, East Sussex
“For services to the Arts.”
Paul Stacey
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to Theatre.”
Lisa Riley
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Leeds, West Yorkshire
“For services to Drama and to Charity.”
Garry Richardson
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Seale, Surrey
“For services to Sport Broadcasting.”
Suzanne Raine
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
“For services to Heritage.”
Source & provenance
Where this record comes from
Officer of the Order of the British Empire · 1981
London Gazette (official record), published supplement. View the issue ↗
No gov.uk honours-list dataset covers 1981 — the published Gazette supplement is the sole source for this record.
Published 30 December 1980.
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