Birthday Honours 2021
Lemn Sissay OBE
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
Officer of the Order of the British Empire · 2021
“For services to Literature and to Charity.”
Member of the Order of the British Empire · 2010
“For services to Literature.”
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Recognised for
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Wikipedia
London Gazette notice
Order of the British Empire
Civil Division
Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood
St. James’s Palace, London SW1
12 June 2021
THE QUEEN has been graciously pleased, on the occasion of the Celebration of Her Majesty’s Birthday, to give orders for the following promotions in, and appointments to, the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire:
O.B.E.
To be Ordinary Officers of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order:
Lemn SISSAY M.B.E.
Poet and Playwright
For services to Literature and to Charity.
Source: The London Gazette, issue 63377 · Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0
London Gazette page
Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) · 2010
View this issue on the London Gazette ↗ · Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0
Location
See other people honoured from South Yorkshire →
Location comes from the Cabinet Office / gov.uk published honours list, not the Gazette notice, and isn’t available for every honour.
In context
Each honour in context
Role, region and citation as recorded for each award.
Member of the Order of the British Empire
New Year Honours 2010- Region
- South Yorkshire
“For services to Literature.”
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Birthday Honours 2021- Region
- London, Greater London
“For services to Literature and to Charity.”
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Birthday Honours 2021
Lemn Sissay
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
“For services to Literature and to Charity.”
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Birthday Honours 2021
Lemn Sissay
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
“For services to Literature and to Charity.”
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Birthday Honours 2021
Lemn Sissay
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
“For services to Literature and to Charity.”
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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 267 times in the Birthday Honours List 2021 — about 18% of the list.
In their area
866 Officer of the Order of the British Empire recipients are from Greater London.
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 Birthday Honours 2021
Abygail Punch
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2021
“For services to National Security.”
Adetokunbo Adesuyan
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2021
London, Greater London
“For services to Law and Order.”
Adnan Khan
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2021
London, Greater London
“For services to Defence.”
Aislinn Rea
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2021
London, Greater London
“For services to EU Negotiations.”
Alan Coppin
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2021
Bourne End, Buckinghamshire
“For services to Safety in Sport.”
Alan Nekrews
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2021
Alan Parsons
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2021
Living Abroad
“For services to Music and Music Production.”
Alan Watson
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2021
London, Greater London
“For services to Law Enforcement.”
Alexander Bruce
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2021
Hungerford, Berkshire
“For services to Charity.”
Alexander Russell
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2021
Woking, Surrey
“For services to Education.”
Alexandra Hoskyn
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2021
Oldham, Greater Manchester
“For services to Tackling Loneliness during Covid-19.”
Alexia Quin
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2021
London, Greater London
“For services to Music Therapy.”
Alison Brown
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2021
Ross on Wye, Herefordshire
“For voluntary service to Veterans.”
Alison Daniels
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2021
“For services to British foreign policy.”
Alison Holmes
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2021
London, Greater London
“For services to Medicine and Infectious Diseases particularly during Covid-19.”
Allan Bennett
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2021
Salisbury, Wiltshire
“For services to Microbiology in the Covid-19 Response.”
Alyson King
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2021
“For services to British foreign policy.”
Amanda Leach
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2021
Living Abroad
“For services to Medical Science and the Covid-19 Response.”
Andrea Siodmok
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2021
Newquay, Cornwall
“For Public Service.”
Andrew Coe
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2021
Andrew Horlock
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2021
Andrew Jennings
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2021
London, Greater London
“For services to International Trade, to Fashion and to Retail.”
Andrew Kerr
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2021
Musselburgh, East Lothian
“For services to the Public Sector.”
Andrew Tilden
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2021
Winscome, Somerset
“For services to Social Work.”
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 · 2021
London Gazette (official record), issue 63377, notice 3817834. View the official notice ↗
Cabinet Office / gov.uk published honours list (Birthday Honours List 2021).
Published 11 June 2021.
Member of the Order of the British Empire · 2010
London Gazette (official record), published supplement. View the issue ↗
Cabinet Office / gov.uk published honours list (New Year Honours List 2010).
Published 31 December 2009.
Location (South Yorkshire) comes from the Cabinet Office / gov.uk published honours list, not the Gazette notice, which records no recipient home location.
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