THREE Warrington residents and a former borough councillor have been recognised in the King’s New Year honours list.
Becoming an officer of the Order of the British Empire and receiving an OBE, is Thomas Anthony Meadows, lead operations manager for Security Services Group and Defence Infrastructure Organisation for services to defence.
England Lioness Lauren May Hemp has also been made a member of the Order of the British Empire. She has been honoured for services to football after England finished runners-up to Spain in the women’s World Cup.
Meanwhile, receiving an MBE is Ian Malcolm Jones for services to education in Merseyside.
Ian Jones
A Walton, Warrington, resident, Ian has been awarded an MBE in the King’s New Year Honours List, in recognition of his charitable work in the education sector.
Ian aged 74, and his wife Liz have lived in Walton for almost thirty years, having moved to the area when Ian held a senior banking post in Liverpool. On his retirement in 2003, he became strongly involved in charitable work in the education sector and has held several high-profile roles.
From 2004 to 2016 he was the Treasurer and Vice-Chair of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, the World’s oldest tropical medicine research and teaching institution. During his time in office, LSTM grew significantly and research grants increased from circa £15M to well over £100M, with about £65M invested in new research and teaching facilities.
Also in 2004, Ian accepted an invitation to join the Council of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, the higher education institution sponsored by Sir Paul McCartney. Ian was elected Chair in 2009 and served in that capacity until 2021. LIPA attracts students from many countries around the world.
During his term in office, Ian was a founder member of three new state schools created as part of the increasingly influential LIPA Learning Group. A new Primary School, High School and a Sixth Form College have been very successfully established and are now part of a multi-academy trust.
In 2011, Ian completed a trio of appointments in the Higher Education sector when he joined the Council of the University of Liverpool to serve a three-year term.
His range of community work has extended beyond education, as for seven years, until 2021, he was Senior Independent Director on the Board of Warrington & Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. During his time on the Board, the Hospitals’ CQC rating moved from “In need of improvement” to “Good”.
Having served on each board for the maximum permitted period, Ian retains an ongoing relationship with LIPA and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.
He is enormously proud to have been so closely involved with all of these important institutions and describes the award of the MBE as a great honour and the icing on the cake after a very fulfilling and rewarding period of his life.
In addition, former Warrington councillor and now Makerfield MP Yvonne Fovargue was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
Commenting on the honour she said: “I am honoured to be recognised in this way. Being an MP is an immense privilege, and I have thoroughly enjoyed serving my constituents since 2010.”
“To say I was surprised when I received my letter would be an understatement – I certainly wasn’t expecting to receive such recognition.”
“I have been privileged to work alongside some fantastic people and organisations along the way and in particular I want to thank Citizens Advice, StepChange, the Chartered Institute of Trading Standards and Electrical Safety First with whom I have worked closely during my time in Parliament.
“I am also proud of my work in debt, personal finance and consumer protection and have worked across the party divide to protect people since my election. I would also like to thank colleagues with whom I have worked on the Privileges Committee and in particular the Chair, Harriet Harman.
“My thanks go to all my staff members, past and present, who have contributed to my work since I was first elected.
“Finally, I would also like to thank my family for being so supportive. I would not have been granted this very special honour without their support.”
