John Casson's MBE: from policing to the high seas, and £750,000 for charity

When the 2019 Birthday Honours were published, John Casson was appointed MBE for services to charity - the culmination of a life that had already spanned policing, the security industry and philanthropy across three continents.

From policing to the boardroom

Born and raised in Coventry, Casson began his career as a police officer with the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary, serving from 1979 to 1987. He then founded Securewest, building it into one of the UK's largest independent security companies before its sale in 2000. As chairman of Securewest International, he turned the firm into a leading name in global maritime security - including a 28-year partnership protecting United States Navy Military Sealift Command vessels, and a recruiting centre in Kathmandu that deployed Gurkha personnel worldwide.

He also helped reshape the industry itself, successfully pressing the Home Office and ACPO to establish the Security Industry Authority and place statutory regulation of UK security on a legal footing.

Nearly three-quarters of a million pounds for good causes

It was his charitable work that brought the MBE. Casson founded the John Casson Foundation in 2012 and, over the years, raised and donated close to £750,000 to a range of causes. From 2001 to 2016 he was the primary sponsor of St Mary's School in the Indian Himalayas, helping its roll grow from 210 to 540 pupils. He served as a trustee of Sandy Gall's Afghanistan Appeal, organised the 70th-anniversary commemorations of Exercise Tiger in 2013, and wrote two books, Afghan Faces (2010) and A Bored Casson is a Dangerous Person (2016), donating the profits to military charities.

A "busy and active life", as he describes it, recognised in the 2019 Birthday Honours. Read more at johncasson.com.