New Year Honours 2023
Virginia Mckenna DBE
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)
Co-Founder
“For services to Wildlife Conservation and Wild Animal Welfare.”
Timeline
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)
For services to Wildlife Conservation and Wild Animal Welfare.
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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
31 December 2022
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:
Virginia Anne McKENNA O.B.E.
Co-Founder, Born Free Foundation
For services to Wildlife Conservation and Wild Animal Welfare.
Source: The London Gazette, issue 63918 · Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0
Location
See other people honoured from Dorking →
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.
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire
New Year Honours 2023- Role at the time
- Co-Founder
- Region
- Dorking, Surrey
“For services to Wildlife Conservation and Wild Animal Welfare.”
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New Year Honours 2023
Virginia Mckenna
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)
“For services to Wildlife Conservation and Wild Animal Welfare.”
Free
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New Year Honours 2023
Virginia Mckenna
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)
“For services to Wildlife Conservation and Wild Animal Welfare.”
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New Year Honours 2023
Virginia Mckenna
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE)
“For services to Wildlife Conservation and Wild Animal Welfare.”
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 13 times in the New Year Honours List 2023 — about 1% of the list.
In their area
7 Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire recipients are from Surrey.
What organisation were they with?
Co-Founder.
How widely is this recognised?
1,438 people have been recognised for Environment & Agriculture.
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 2023
Alison Rose-slade (alison Rose)
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2023
London, Greater London
“For services to the Financial Sector.”
Anita Frew
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2023
London, Greater London
“For services to Business and to the Economy.”
Cathryn Nutbrown
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2023
Sheffield, South Yorkshire
“For services to Early Childhood Education.”
Dawn Childs
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2023
Gloucestershire
“For services to Engineering.”
Denise Lewis
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2023
Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire
“For services to Sport.”
Dr Heather Mcgregor
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2023
Living Abroad
“For services to Education, to Business and to Heritage in Scotland.”
Julie Maxton
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2023
London, Greater London
“For services to Science and to the Law.”
Lyn Chitty
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2023
Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire
“For services to Medicine.”
Nicola Whitmount Dandridge
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2023
London, Greater London
“For services to Higher Education.”
Norma Redfearn
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2023
North Shields, Tyne and Wear
“For Political and Public Service.”
Robina Shah
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2023
Stockport, Greater Manchester
“For services to Patient Care.”
Sally Anne Sheila Dicketts
PersonDame Commander Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2023
Oxford, Oxfordshire
“For services to Education.”
In the same field
Others recognised for Environment & Agriculture
Across the 2000–2026 honours lists in our records, 1,438 people have been recognised for Environment & Agriculture. See the full list →
Stephen Andrew Smith
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Oxford, Oxfordshire
“For services to Climate Science.”
Lisa Clare Pinney
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Newark, Nottinghamshire
“For services to the Environment.”
Michael Cooper
PersonOfficer Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Swindon, Wiltshire
“For services to Charity and to Sustainability.”
Clare Olver
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Warrington, Cheshire
“For services to Community Forestry.”
Jennifer Rose-miller
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Nairn, Nairn
“For services to Local Heritage and to the community in Nairnshire.”
Kabir Kaul
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to Nature.”
Stephen Jess
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Bangor, County Down
“For services to Agriculture in Northern Ireland.”
Adrian Isaac
PersonBritish Empire Medal · 2026
Boston, Lincolnshire
“For services to the Environment.”
Keith Chalmers-watson
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
North Berwick, East Lothian
“For services to Wild Bird Research and Conservation.”
Philip Stocker
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Badminton, Gloucestershire
“For services to Farming and to Animal Welfare.”
George Seligman
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Romsey, Hampshire
“For services to the Environment.”
Juliet Sargeant
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Brighton, East Sussex
“For services to Horticulture.”
David Sawkins
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Holm, Orkney
“For services to Port and Harbour Development and to Environmental Management.”
John Rochford
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Hertford, Hertfordshire
“For services to Horticulture.”
Andrew Page
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Ringwood, Hampshire
“For services to Forestry.”
Stewart Muir
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Liskeard, Cornwall
“For services to Wildlife Conservation.”
William Moore
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Derry, County Londonderry
“For services to the Agriculture Sector in Northern Ireland.”
Simon Humphreys
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Dorking, Surrey
“For services to the Environment.”
Stephen Hughson
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Newbridge on Wye, Powys
“For services to Agriculture and to Tourism and Events in Wales.”
Caterina Goodhart
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
London, Greater London
“For services to Conservation and Heritage Crafts.”
Ian Glendinning
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Magherafelt, County Londonderry
“For services to Country Sports and to Conservation.”
Camilla Fyfe (milly Fyfe)
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Northampton, Northamptonshire
“For services to Farmers and to Family Nutrition.”
Alison Field
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Winchester, Hampshire
“For services to Forestry.”
Sarah Eberle
PersonMember Of The Order Of The British Empire · 2026
Witney, Oxfordshire
“For services to Horticulture.”
Source & provenance
Where this record comes from
Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire · 2023
London Gazette (official record), issue 63918, notice 4246367. View the official notice ↗
Cabinet Office / gov.uk published honours list (New Year Honours List 2023).
Published 30 December 2022.
Location (Dorking, Surrey) comes from the Cabinet Office / gov.uk published honours list, not the Gazette notice, which records no recipient home location.
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