Birthday Honours 2015
Maria Balshaw CBE
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
Director
“For services to the Arts.”
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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
13 June 2015
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:
Dr. Maria Jane BALSHAW
Director, Whitworth Art Gallery and Manchester Art Gallery
For services to the Arts.
Source: The London Gazette, issue 61256 · Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0
Location
Greater Manchester
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 2015- Role at the time
- Director
- Region
- Greater Manchester
“For services to the Arts.”
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Birthday Honours 2015
Maria Balshaw
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
“For services to the Arts.”
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Birthday Honours 2015
Maria Balshaw
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
“For services to the Arts.”
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Birthday Honours 2015
Maria Balshaw
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
“For services to the Arts.”
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In context
The bigger picture
How common is this award?
The Commander of the Order of the British Empire was awarded 114 times in the Birthday Honours List 2015 — about 8% of the list.
What organisation were they with?
Director.
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 Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the Birthday Honours 2015
Alan Finch
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2015
West Sussex
“For services to the Theatre.”
Alexander Anderson
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2015
Durham
“For services to the Tees Valley Region.”
Alexander Poots
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2015
London
“For services to the Arts.”
Amanda Nevill
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2015
London
“For services to the Film Industry.”
Andrew Mitchell
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2015
London
“For services to Civil Engineering.”
Andrew Richards
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2015
Cambridgeshire
“For services to Investment in the Life Sciences Industry.”
Andrew Street
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2015
Northamptonshire
“For services to Economic Growth and Chair, Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership.”
Angela Gallop
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2015
Oxfordshire
“For services to Forensic Science.”
Ann Limb
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2015
Buckinghamshire
“For political service.”
Anthony Holland
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2015
Cambridgeshire
“For services to Psychiatry.”
Anthony Steen
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2015
London
“For services to fighting Modern Day Slavery.”
Barbara Hann
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2015
Tyne and Wear
“For services to the Financially Excluded.”
Benedict Cumberbatch
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2015
London
“For services to the Performing Arts and to Charity.”
Carol Burke
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2015
West Midlands
“For services to Engineering.”
Carole Oatway
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2015
Glasgow
“For services to Victims of Crime.”
Carole Stone
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2015
London
“For services to Market Research and to charity.”
Chaand Nagpaul
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2015
London
“For services to Primary Care.”
Charles Plant
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2015
Kent
“For services to Legal Education and Regulation.”
Chiwetel Ejiofor
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2015
London
“For services to Drama.”
Christina Potter
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2015
Edinburgh
“For services to Education.”
Christina Rees
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2015
Hertfordshire
“For services to the Church of England.”
Christopher Gilligan
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2015
Cambridgeshire
“For services to Plant Health in the field of Epidemiology.”
Christopher Harrison
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2015
North Yorkshire
“For services to Revenue Protection and voluntary service to Justice.”
Christopher Hole
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2015
London
“For services to the Music Industry.”
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
Commander of the Order of the British Empire · 2015
London Gazette (official record), issue 61256, notice 2347676. View the official notice ↗
Cabinet Office / gov.uk published honours list (Birthday Honours List 2015).
Published 13 June 2015.
Location (Greater Manchester) comes from the Cabinet Office / gov.uk published honours list, not the Gazette notice, which records no recipient home location.
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