New Year Honours 2026
Lorna Dawson DBE
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire · 2026
“For services to Innovations in Soil and Forensic Science.”
Commander of the Order of the British Empire · 2018
“For services to Soil and Forensic Science.”
Timeline
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)
For services to Innovations in Soil and Forensic Science.
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London Gazette notice
Order of the British Empire
Civil Division
Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood
St. James’s Palace, London SW1
30 December 2025
THE KING has been graciously pleased to give orders for the following promotions in, and appointments to, the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire:
D.B.E.
To be Ordinary Dames Commander of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order:
Professor Lorna Anne DAWSON C.B.E. F.R.S.E.
Head, Centre for Forensic Soil Science, James Hutton Institute
For services to Innovations in Soil and Forensic Science.
Source: The London Gazette, issue 64940 · Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0
London Gazette notice
Order of the British Empire
Civil Division
Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood
St. James’s Palace, London SW1
9 June 2018
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:
C.B.E.
To be Ordinary Commanders of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order:
Professor Lorna Anne DAWSON
Principal Soil Scientist, The James Hutton Institute
For services to Soil and Forensic Science.
Source: The London Gazette, issue 62310 · Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0
Location
See other people honoured from Aberdeen →
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.
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Birthday Honours 2018- Region
- Aberdeen
“For services to Soil and Forensic Science.”
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire
New Year Honours 2026- Role at the time
- lately Head, Centre for Forensic Soil Science
- Region
- Aberdeen, City of Aberdeen
“For services to Innovations in Soil and Forensic Science.”
Mark the occasion
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New Year Honours 2026
Lorna Dawson
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)
“For services to Innovations in Soil and Forensic Science.”
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New Year Honours 2026
Lorna Dawson
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)
“For services to Innovations in Soil and Forensic Science.”
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New Year Honours 2026
Lorna Dawson
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)
“For services to Innovations in Soil and Forensic Science.”
Print · from £5.99
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In context
The bigger picture
How common is this award?
The Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire was awarded 14 times in the New Year Honours List 2026 — about 1% of the list.
In their area
1 Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire recipient is from City of Aberdeen.
What organisation were they with?
lately Head, Centre for Forensic Soil Science.
How widely is this recognised?
1,706 people have been recognised for Science, Engineering & Technology.
Counts reflect the 2000–2026 honours lists in our records; earlier years are not yet included.
Honoured alongside them
Others awarded the Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the New Year Honours 2026
Amanda Pritchard
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to the NHS.”
Anneliese Dodds
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Oxford, Oxfordshire
“For Parliamentary and Political Service.”
Carol Grigor
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
“For services to the Arts, Culture and Women in the UK.”
Dr Carol Homden
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to Children and Families.”
Feroza Syal (meera Syal)
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to Literature, to Drama and to Charity.”
Fiona Rayment
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Salford, Greater Manchester
“For services to Nuclear Engineering.”
Jayne Christensen (jayne Torvill)
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Heathfield, East Sussex
“For services to Ice Skating and to Voluntary Service.”
Meena Upadhyaya
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Cardiff, South Glamorgan
“For services to Community Cohesion in Wales and to Medical Genetics.”
Polina Bayvel
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to Engineering and to Optical Communications.”
Sarah Anderson
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to Mental Health and to Suicide Prevention. (To be dated 5 December 2025)”
Sonia Blandford
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Corsham, Wiltshire
“For services to Education.”
Suzannah Lishman
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Rutland
“For services to the Medical Examiner System and to Patient Safety.”
Wendy Carlin
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Oxford, Oxfordshire
“For services to Economics.”
In the same field
Others recognised for Science, Engineering & Technology
Across the 2000–2026 honours lists in our records, 1,706 people have been recognised for Science, Engineering & Technology. See the full list →
Stephen Andrew Smith
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Oxford, Oxfordshire
“For services to Climate Science.”
Fiona Rayment
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Salford, Greater Manchester
“For services to Nuclear Engineering.”
Carol Brayne
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
“For services to Medicine, Medical Research and Public Health.”
Polina Bayvel
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to Engineering and to Optical Communications.”
Andrew Morris
PersonKnight Bachelor · 2026
Perth, Perth and Kinross
“For services to Medical Sciences, to Public Health and to Patient Care.”
Hayaatun Sillem
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to Engineering.”
Debra Padgett
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear
“For services to Biomedical Science in the NHS.”
Simeon Yates
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Sheffield, South Yorkshire
“For services to Digital Inclusion.”
Jian Zhang
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Bournemouth, Dorset
“For services to Computer Animation Research, to Education and to Innovation in STEM.”
Matthew Wilson
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Robertsbridge, East Sussex
“For services to Blood Cancer Awareness and Research.”
Claire Vincent
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Bangor, County Down
“For services to Marine Science and to Women in Science.”
Ann Watson
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to the Advancement of Skills in the Engineering and Manufacturing Sector.”
Martin Rolles
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Swansea, West Glamorgan
“For services to Healthcare Science and Cancer.”
Peter Robertson
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Belfast, City of Belfast
“For services to Research and Innovation in Northern Ireland.”
Professor Riley
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to Research and Education around Black British Music.”
Beena Puri
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
“For services to Digital Inclusion.”
Ghulam Ng
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Leicester, Leicestershire
“For services to Medical Research and Healthcare.”
Ian Marson
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to Migration and Borders Technology.”
James Markey
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Guildford, Surrey
“For services to the Technology Sector.”
Carolyn Heitmeyer
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to Social Science.”
Jane Gate
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Thatcham, Berkshire
“For services to Science and the Innovation Ecosystem.”
Maurice Geddis
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Dromore, County Down
“For services to Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Northern Ireland.”
Mark Downs
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Deal, Kent
“For services to Biology.”
Nicola Collett
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Lutterworth, Leicestershire
“For services to School Sport and Physical Education and to the communities in Leicester City and Leicestershire.”
Source & provenance
Where this record comes from
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire · 2026
London Gazette (official record), issue 64940, notice 5027548. View the official notice ↗
Cabinet Office / gov.uk published honours list (New Year Honours List 2026).
Published 29 December 2025.
Commander of the Order of the British Empire · 2018
London Gazette (official record), issue 62310, notice 3041538. View the official notice ↗
Cabinet Office / gov.uk published honours list (Birthday Honours List 2018).
Published 8 June 2018.
Location (Aberdeen) comes from the Cabinet Office / gov.uk published honours list, not the Gazette notice, which records no recipient home location.
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