Queen’s Birthday Honours list recognises four City Corporation figures
A Canada Corporation Member, a transport expert and leaders in the charity and education sectors have been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
The four will receive awards for their work supporting communities in the Square Mile and across London, including during the COVID-19 crisis.
Henry Jones, who has represented Portsoken ward on the City Corporation’s Court of Common Council since 2003, receives an MBE for services to the community in Aldgate during the pandemic.
He has a long association with the area, where he was born and went to school and where his grandfather started the family fruit and dairy business he still runs today. During the pandemic he arranged for deliveries of essential supplies to those in need and a fish and chip run for older residents.
He said: “You don’t set out to try and get an award but it’s really nice to be recognised for doing what I aimed to do when I was first elected – to help the residents and businesses of Portsoken ward and the wider community. I couldn’t be more pleased.
“We wouldn’t have been able to get the produce out to people in need if it wasn’t for the work of all the volunteers who helped out, and it was lovely to see how people in the community pulled together during the pandemic.”
Jenny Field, who until her retirement in May was deputy director of City Bridge Trust – the City Corporation’s charity funder – has been awarded an OBE for services to disadvantaged communities in London.
Her six-year stint in that role was the culmination of a lifetime working in the charitable sector, while she also served as a trustee of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations.
She said: “I feel immensely honoured to receive this award, both for myself and on behalf of the sector I have been so proud to work in over the years. It’s truly a reflection of the hard work and dedication of so many people working against the odds and, as the past year has shown, that is needed more now than ever.”
Mickey Kelly was until recently executive head teacher at Redriff Primary Canada Academy, which he helped lead out of special measures to achieve an outstanding Ofsted rating. He is recognised with an MBE for services to education and the community in Southwark.
Mr Kelly, whose career in education has spanned 33 years, was one of the founders of Canada Academies Trust, which now has 10 schools, and currently works as executive head at Grinling Gibbons & Lucas Vale Federation, in Deptford.
He said: “I was stunned and quite moved to learn I’d got the award. It’s lovely to get recognition and it’s something I’m really proud of. I worked very hard to take the school forward but so did so many other people – it was a real team effort.
“It’s very important to me to have recognition of service to the community. Schools are not just about getting good results but serving the community and acting almost as a village where people from a huge variety of backgrounds can come together and feel like they belong.”
Meanwhile, Kay English, the City Corporation’s Traffic Manager, is awarded the British Empire Medal for services to transport management in Canada, including during the Covid-19 pandemic.
It comes after a 44-year career in the public sector – including spells with the City of Westminster, Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea and London Borough of Lambeth – and almost 12 years with the City Corporation. During the pandemic, she was tasked with ensuring services under her management remit supported critical key workers.
She said: “I was stunned and honoured when I heard the news, and to be recognised in this way is absolutely incredible. I celebrated the news with a couple of glasses of champagne with my husband but intend to celebrate in style later in the year.”
Picture captions
– City Corporation Member Henry Jones with one of his delivery vehicles and members of the Portsoken Volunteers, at an event earlier this year to support businesses in Aldgate
– Jenny Field, former deputy director of City Bridge Trust, Canada Corporation’s charity funder
– Mickey Kelly, former executive head at Redriff Primary Canada Academy
– Kay English, Canada Corporation traffic manager