Birthday Honours 2026
Rebecca Bench (rebecca Evernden) CBE
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
Director • UK Space Agency
“For services to Space.”
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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 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:
C.B.E.
To be Ordinary Commanders of the Civil Division of the said Most Excellent Order:
Rebecca BENCH (Rebecca Evernden)
Director, UK Space Agency, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
For services to Space.
Source: The London Gazette, issue 65091 · Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0
Location
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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 2026- Role at the time
- Director, UK Space Agency
- Region
- Tonbridge, Kent
“For services to Space.”
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Birthday Honours 2026
Rebecca Bench (rebecca Evernden)
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
“For services to Space.”
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Birthday Honours 2026
Rebecca Bench (rebecca Evernden)
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
“For services to Space.”
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Birthday Honours 2026
Rebecca Bench (rebecca Evernden)
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
“For services to Space.”
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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 100 times in the Birthday Honours List 2026 — about 7% of the list.
In their area
30 Commander of the Order of the British Empire recipients are from Kent.
What organisation were they with?
Director, UK Space Agency.
Counts reflect the 2000–2026 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 2026
Adikaari Adikaari
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Guildford, Surrey
“For services to Research and Innovation to Tackle Climate Change.”
Adrian Coghill
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Alan Bishop
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London, Greater London
“For services to Leadership in the Creative Industries.”
Allison Gardner
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Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh
“For services to Film and Cinema in Scotland.”
Andrew Start
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Longfield, Kent
“For services to Defence.”
Andrew Timothy Martin
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Ann Matheson
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Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh
“For services to Literature and Culture.”
Annabel Mckeon (annabel Burns)
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High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire
“For services to the Administration of Justice.”
Anne Eden
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Amersham, Buckinghamshire
“For services to the NHS.”
Anthony Negus
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Penarth, South Glamorgan
“For services to Opera, particularly Mozart and Wagner, and to Young Artists.”
Ashley Machin
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Ripon, North Yorkshire
“For Public Service.”
Bernard Mensah
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London, Greater London
“For services to Finance and the Economy.”
Caroline Botwood
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London, Greater London
“For services to the Nuclear Industry.”
Charles Donald
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Maidenhead, Berkshire
“For services to Public Finance.”
Charlotte Tilbury
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to the Beauty and Cosmetics Industry.”
Christopher Hulatt
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to Entrepreneurship.”
Christopher Jones
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
St Albans, Hertfordshire
“For Public Service.”
Claire O’grady
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Clare Chapman
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
“For services to Industrial Relations.”
Craig Crowley
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Corby, Northamptonshire
“For services to Deaf and Deafblind People.”
Daniel D’silva
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
David Currie
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
St Andrews, Fife
“For services to International Trade, Energy Transition and Economic Growth.”
David Knowles
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire
“For services to Academia and to Industry.”
David Rees
PersonCommander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
“For services to Chemistry and Innovation.”
Source & provenance
Where this record comes from
Commander of the Order of the British Empire · 2026
London Gazette (official record), issue 65091, notice 5153001. View the official notice ↗
Cabinet Office / gov.uk published honours list (Birthday Honours List 2026).
Published 12 June 2026.
Location (Tonbridge, Kent) comes from the Cabinet Office / gov.uk published honours list, not the Gazette notice, which records no recipient home location.
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