Birthday Honours 2026
Rachael Ross OBE
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
Founder
Officer of the Order of the British Empire · 2026
“For services to Education, to Policy and to People with Down Syndrome.”
Member of the Order of the British Empire · 2019
“For services to Education and Down Syndrome.”
Timeline
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
For services to Education, to Policy and to People with Down Syndrome.
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Recognised for
Topics
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 2026
THE KING has been graciously pleased, on the occasion of the Celebration of His 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:
Rachael ROSS M.B.E.
Founding Officer, National Down Syndrome Policy Group
For services to Education, to Policy and to People with Down Syndrome.
Source: The London Gazette, issue 65091 · 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
8 June 2019
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:
M.B.E.
To be Ordinary Members of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order:
Rachael ROSS
Founder, Portsmouth Down Syndrome Association
For services to Education and Down Syndrome.
Source: The London Gazette, issue 62666 · Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0
Location
See other people honoured from Hampshire →
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
Birthday Honours 2019- Role at the time
- Founder
- Region
- Hampshire
“For services to Education and Down Syndrome.”
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Birthday Honours 2026- Region
- Hinton Daubnay, Hampshire
“For services to Education, to Policy and to People with Down Syndrome.”
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Birthday Honours 2026
Rachael Ross
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
“For services to Education, to Policy and to People with Down Syndrome.”
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Birthday Honours 2026
Rachael Ross
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
“For services to Education, to Policy and to People with Down Syndrome.”
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Birthday Honours 2026
Rachael Ross
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
“For services to Education, to Policy and to People with Down Syndrome.”
Print · from £5.99
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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 278 times in the Birthday Honours List 2026 — about 19% of the list.
In their area
81 Officer of the Order of the British Empire recipients are from Hampshire.
How widely is this recognised?
5,862 people have been recognised for Education.
Counts reflect the 2000–2026 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 2026
Adrian Budgen
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Bakewell, Derbyshire
“For services to the Victims of Asbestos Related Diseases and their Families.”
Adrian West
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to Law Enforcement.”
Aileen Bush (aileen Evans)
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire
“For services to Social Housing.”
Alastair Farnsworth
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Abroad
“For services to Defence.”
Aletta Collins
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to Dance.”
Alexander Bennett
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Alexander Profumo
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
“For services to British Foreign Policy.”
Alexis Poole
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Exeter, Devon
“For services to Policing.”
Alice Witherow
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear
“For services to Education.”
Aline Santos Farhat
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to the Retail Industry.”
Alison Brooks
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to Architecture.”
Allan Taylor
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Aberdeen, City of Aberdeen
“For services to Renewable Energy.”
Alyson Scurfield
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Newcastle Upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear
“For services to Technology Enabled Care.”
Amir Ramzan
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
“For services to UK Cultural Relations Overseas.”
Andrea Arlidge
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Weston Super Mare, Somerset
“For services to Education.”
Andrea Bennett
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Preston, Lancashire
“For services to Probation.”
Andrew Elliott
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to Defence.”
Andrew Jamieson
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Glasgow, City of Glasgow
“For services to the Renewable Energy Industries.”
Andrew Page
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Epsom, Surrey
“For Public Service.”
Andrew Purvis
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Ascot, Berkshire
“For services to Biodiversity Science.”
Andrew Ransom
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Sevenoaks, Kent
“For services to the Business Support Services Sector.”
Andrew Routley
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire
“For Public Service.”
Andrew Scott
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
“For services to Sculpture and the Arts.”
Andrew Waggett
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
“For services to British Foreign Policy.”
In the same field
Others recognised for Education
Across the 2000–2026 honours lists in our records, 5,862 people have been recognised for Education. See the full list →
Henry Cyril Grunwald
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to Holocaust Remembrance and Education.”
Stephen Thurston Munby
PersonKnight Bachelor · 2026
Kendal, Cumbria
“For services to Education.”
Shelagh Jane Legrave
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Chichester, West Sussex
“For services to Education.”
Debra Gray
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Dronfield, Derbyshire
“For services to Further Education.”
William Smith
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Witney, Oxfordshire
“For services to Education.”
Dawn Tinley
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
“For services to People with Learning Disabilities in Jersey.”
Keri Scott
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
“For services to Education in Gibraltar.”
Glenda Mctaggart
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
“For services to Education in the Cayman Islands.”
Catherine Grove
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
“For services to Education and Young People in The Gambia.”
Julia Downey
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
“For services to Children and Education in Moldova.”
Barbara Connell
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
“For services to Education and Young People in The Gambia.”
Diane Willson
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Bognor Regis, West Sussex
“For services to the Education Community in Bognor Regis, West Sussex.”
Caroline Tyerman
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Durham, County Durham
“For services to Education.”
Patricia Wells
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to Early Years in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.”
Alison Turner
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to the Learning Disabled and Neurodiverse Community.”
Louise Sutherland
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Leatherhead, Surrey
“For services to Early Years.”
Peter Scobie
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Newtownards, County Down
“For services to Higher Education.”
Audrey Moore
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Limavady, County Londonderry
“For voluntary services to Special Education.”
Fiona Mccullough
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Tamworth, Staffordshire
“For services to Education and Outreach.”
Rita Lewis (helen Hopkins)
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Carmarthen, Dyfed
“For services to Music and Music Education.”
Iraklis Kolokotronis
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to the Early Years.”
Fiona Knight
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Corwen, Clwyd
“For services to People with Learning Disabilities and to Autistic People.”
Eleanor Keeley
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to Education.”
Sandra Howes (cassandra Howes)
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Bedford, Bedfordshire
“For services to Education and to Inter-Faith Relations in Bedfordshire.”
Source & provenance
Where this record comes from
Officer of the Order of the British Empire · 2026
London Gazette (official record), issue 65091, notice 5153276. View the official notice ↗
Cabinet Office / gov.uk published honours list (Birthday Honours List 2026).
Published 12 June 2026.
Member of the Order of the British Empire · 2019
London Gazette (official record), issue 62666, notice 3295012. View the official notice ↗
Cabinet Office / gov.uk published honours list (Birthday Honours List 2019).
Published 7 June 2019.
Location (Hampshire) comes from the Cabinet Office / gov.uk published honours list, not the Gazette notice, which records no recipient home location.
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