A nurse on the frontline during the coronavirus pandemic, an Environment Agency flood hero and a windmill restorer were among the Lincolnshire people honoured in the New Year Honours 2021 list.
A long list of people from across the country were honoured for a variety of achievements, including contribution to the COVID-19 response.
The Cabinet Office publicly announced the full list late in the evening on Wednesday, December 30, but had provided details of three Lincolnshire winners, who The Lincolnite spoke with to get their reaction.
Dr Judith Graham – BEM
Dr Judith Graham was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to the NHS during the COVID-19 response. | Photo: Rotheram Doncaster & South Humber NHS Foundation Trust
Dr Judith Graham, 40, from Scotterthorpe, Gainsborough was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to the NHS during the COVID-19 response.
Judith is a consultant psychotherapist who works for a Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire NHS Trust, as well as an Advanced Nurse Consultant.
She has worked in a variety of clinical posts within the NHS for over 17 years and is currently the Director of Psychological Professionals at Rotherham, Doncaster & South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDaSH).
During the pandemic, she worked with RDaSH teams to develop an enhanced staff wellbeing programme. She also worked with trust lead psychologists to establish psychological support hubs.
Judith is also a Freedom to Speak Up (FTSU) Champion and was recently been appointed as a Trustee and Council Member of the Queen’s Nursing Institute.
She will receive her medal in the coming months from a Lord Lieutenant and will attend a future Royal Garden Party, once it is safe to do so.
Judith told The Lincolnite: “It felt really out of the blue and emotional even talking about it (the award). I was very overwhelmed and never thought I’d have something like that.
“I didn’t believe it initially, but then I was really bowled over and honoured and thinking about my whole team and all of the NHS at the moment as we are all working really hard during this pandemic. I am so proud.”
In her spare time Judith, who also cares for her father, made hundreds of face coverings and ear supports for local nursing homes and carers, as well as supporting food and medication drop offs for a high number of highly vulnerable people in her local village.
Deborah Campbell – BEM
Deborah Campbell, who has been awarded a BEM, before she went up with the Royal Air Force to drop the first sandbags during the Wainfleet floods in 2019. | Photo: RAF
Deborah Campbell, 47, who lives just outside Wragby, was awarded a BEM for services to Flood Protection and voluntary service to Young People.
Deborah is a Flood Risk Manager at the Environment Agency, who she has been employed for 21 years and her role is currently focused on the East Coast.
She was on the frontline during the devastating floods in Wainfleet last year, working long hours to warn the community and help set up a multi-agency response. After an already gruelling 12 hour shift on the ground, Deborah spent four-and-a-half hours directing the RAF, using Chinooks, on where and how best to place ballast to stem the flow of water.
She also led responses to the tidal surges of 2013 in Boston and in 2017 in Mablethorpe, Skegness and down to The Wash, but fortunately this second incident didn’t hit the Lincolnshire coast. One of her other proudest moments are projects the Environment Agency complete that “don’t get much of a fanfare” such as the Louth and Horncastle Flood Alleviation scheme.
She said: “I do this job as I care about the community. Sometimes we can take a lot of criticism from people, but we do it because we care and want to make a difference for the community, which Wainfleet showed.
“It is a nice feeling to have all that camaraderie and support from across the Environment Agency and emergency services.
“I accompanied the RAF to start the placement of the sandbags, the Chinook was on its way and the only person available was me. Going up in the RAF helicopter is something I will never forget and is one of my proudest moments.”
On her award, she added: “It was completely out of the blue and wasn’t expected at all. It makes me really proud of what we as an organisation achieve.
“I am proud individually, but my message is this isn’t really recognition for me, it is recognition for all of us that have dealt with all of the incidents, they all do a fantastic job.”
Jon Sass – MBE
Jon Sass, who has been awarded an MBE, with his grandsons Jack, Harry and Oliver.
Jon Sass, 78, who lives in Nettleton, Market Rasen, was awarded an MBE for services to the Restoration of UK Windmills and Watermills.
Jon was originally brought up in Brigg and moved to Coventry to do a military engineering apprenticeship before returning to Lincolnshire.
He was around 17-years-old when he first got involved in the industry with a voluntary role at Wrawby Windmill near Brigg, while his day job was working in a motor engineering family business in Brigg.
He assisted in the restoration of Wrawby Windmill. The restoration and fundraising began in 1961 before it opened and was fully operational in September 1965.
Between 1978-1983 Jon was invited to go over to Virginia in America to put into commission a replica post mill on the oldest known site of a windmill in North America. His son Gavin was born during their trip, and he also has another son Alex and a daughter called Carla.
He was also a founder member of the Lincolnshire Mills Group (LMG) whose aims were to preserve and maintain mills in the county.
The father-of-three, who has been living in Nettleton for 11 years, still gives advice on windmills and watermills and is now focusing on doing more research and publishing, with his most recent book in 2017 entitled Saundersons Millwrights & Engineers of Louth.
Wrawby before restoration began at Wrawby Windmill in 1961 (left) and later when Jon Sass and his wife Anne Sass visited the restored mill (right).
On his award, Jon said: “I was shocked. When my wife Anne mentioned it I thought it was a scam at first, but I am very honoured.
“There are a lot of other people, friends of mine, that could have this honour as well, but it has been a lifetimes enjoyable interest and it is nice that this work has been appreciated.”
Bill Skelly and Kerrin Wilson – Queen’s Police Medal
Former Chief Constable Bill Skelly and serving Assistant Chief Constable Kerrin Wilson. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police
Lincolnshire Police’s former Chief Constable Bill Skelly and serving Assistant Chief Constable Kerrin Wilson will receive the Queen’s Police Medal.
Bill, who retired earlier this month and was replaced by Chris Haward, is commended for investing in the wellbeing of officers and staff at Lincolnshire Police.
He introduced creative and innovative concepts including introduce drones to the force. He also introduced new technology to allow police officers to be out-and-about in their communities for longer, including an investment in mobile data terminals.
At the time of nomination for this honour, Kerrin Wilson was the only female Chief Officer in the UK from an ethnic minority group and is recognised for “inspiring others to greatness” and “placing diversity at the heart of her work”.
ACC Wilson foundeed Supporting Minorities in Lincolnshire through Engagement (SMILE) at Lincolnshire Police, which is also linked to the national body. She is also commended for co-founding GLOW (Greater Lincolnshire Outstanding Women).
She said: “It truly is an honour to receive the Queen’s Policing Medal and I’m delighted that my work has been recognised in this way.
“This proves that efforts across the country to embrace diversity and ensure equal opportunities for all are being noticed, and its important we continue on this path and continue to grow both within policing, and as a society.”
Other Lincolnshire winners
Andrew George Beet (Mablethorpe) – OBE for services to Law and Order (Lately Police Staff, Office for Security and Counter Terrorism, Home Office)
Samantha Clayton (Waddingham) – OBE for services to Social Work (Lincolnshire County Council)
Alan Cowdale (Market Drayton) – OBE for services to Defence (Senior Scientific Adviser, Air and Space Warfare Centre)
Ellen Thinnesen (Grimsby) – OBE for services to Education (Chief Executive at Sunderland College)
Gillian Elizabeth Angel (Market Rasen) – BEM for services to RAF Personnel and their families (Community Development Officer at RAF Scampton)
John Mapletoft (Grantham) – BEM for services to Table Tennis
Mary Thomas (Cleethorpes) – BEM for charitable services to Maritime Safety (Chair of Cleethorpes Fundraising Branch of the RNLI)
Janice Lorraine Wilkinson (Grimsby) – BEM for services to Education in North East Lincolnshire (Cover teacher at Willows Primary School)
Curtis Woodhouse (Hull) – BEM for services to football and boxing (Manager of Gainsborough Trinity Football Club)
Ella Jane Collins (Springthorpe) – BEM for services to the community during the COVID-19 response (Community Champion, WM Morrisons Supermarkets plc)
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The Lincolnite has caught up with a Sleaford man who became the lead singer of T. Rex in the 90s and 00s – a week after he showed the band his Marc Bolan impression during a reunion gig he went to as a fan.
Rob Benson, a 60-year-old musician originally from Lincoln, had always been a big fan of notorious glam rockers T. Rex when he decided to watch Mickey Finn’s band in Northampton in 1998. Little did he know, that evening would change his life forever.
T. Rex are one of the most famous bands to ever emerge from the United Kingdom, with four number one singles in the 1970s and over 50 million album copies sold worldwide.
The centrepiece and foundation of the band was lead singer Marc Bolan, who founded T. Rex in 1967 and was the star of the show before his sudden death in a car crash in 1977.
The band split soon after losing its key cog, and it wasn’t until some 20 years later T. Rex decided to Get It On again.
In September 1997, to celebrate what would have been Marc Bolan’s 50th birthday, the former band members were invited to a reunion by their former tour manager Mick Gray.
It was the spark they all needed, and they decided to tour again under the name Mickey Finn’s T-Rex, due to the obvious lack of Bolan.
A year on from that, Finn and co. were playing a gig at the Chicago Rock cafe, a show which Rob Benson, living in Sleaford at this time, attended.
The band toured as Mickey Finn’s T-Rex when they returned in 1998.
“I was there as a fan”, he told The Lincolnite. “I did enjoy the gig, but I couldn’t help but feel there was something missing, the spirit of Marc Bolan was absent.
“I met the band after the gig and told them I could sing just like Marc, and they told me to send over a demo tape. They liked what they heard and invited me to rehearsals in the Isle of Wight.
“A week later I was performing at the Porsche festival in Germany in front of thousands of people, live on TV, as the lead singer of T. Rex. I didn’t know where to look. It was mad.”
Rob had gone from watching his heroes from the crowd to standing on stage performing with them in stadiums across the world, he was now a bonafide rock star. The largest crowd he performed to was 70,000 in a stadium in Germany.
“I was living a rock and roll dream, leather clad jackets and all.”
He continued: “It was utterly terrifying to start with, but Mickey and the rest of the guys were very helpful, we just built a chemistry up there on stage and eventually things were coming together great and I got more confident up there.
“I was truly thrown in at the deep end but I loved it. After that first show the stage manager walked into our room and said ‘great show guys’ then pointed at me and told me I looked like a scared rabbit! It was a very humbling experience.”
Rob saw the sights of stardom and got to hang around with countless celebrities during his time with the band, even befriending popular band Slade, but at that time it didn’t get much more famous than Oasis, the crown jewel of 90s Britpop.
Rob’s vocal resemblance to Marc Bolan caught the ears of not just his band members, but everyone who saw them perform.
“We did a festival in Copenhagen and were on the bill with Oasis, I got to spend the night partying with Liam Gallagher.
“Here I am, just an ordinary guy plunged into the world of show business, it was incredible.”
The good times kept rolling despite the death of the legendary conga player Mickey Finn in 2003, and Rob remained with the band until 2010, before he was replaced by current lead vocalist Jay Spargo.
Rob had the time of his life performing with T. Rex, a far cry from his previous work performing in pubs across Lincolnshire.
Rob now lives in Derbyshire, and before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, he performed a couple of shows a year in Germany with The Classic Rock All-Stars, comprising of famous musicians from the 60s and 70s.
Reflecting on his whirlwind time, in the band he grew up adoring, Rob concluded: “98% of the time I spent in the band was just hanging about, meeting people, I got really close with the band members which felt normal at the time.
“I knew the songs off by heart, I was a huge fan, and here I was touring the world with them. It’s certainly one that’s been helpful to have on the CV!”
A pair of anti-vaxxers have decided to temporarily stop sharing conspiracy theories on Facebook and stage a protest at a roundabout in Lincoln instead.
The duo were spotted on the Riseholme roundabout on the A15 on Friday afternoon, armed with misinformation signs that appear to suggest England’s Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty has an “evil agenda”.
The protest signs appeared to be against child vaccinations, which suggests that the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation were against young people being jabbed, despite a statement in July saying the Pfizer dose had been authorised for use in people aged 12 and over.
They seem to be at loggerheads with Lincolnshire’s own Jonathan Van-Tam, none other than England’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer, who urged people this week to “trust professionals, not Instagram” as fake propaganda posted on social media is being attributed to vaccine hesitancy.
Another sign held up spouts rhetoric about heart problems from the COVID-19 vaccine, while a third notice shows children with masks on and reads: “Is this the future we want for our kids?”
For reference, in case you cannot make it to the Lincolnshire Showground for your vaccination, there will be a free shuttle bus service to take you to and from the jab site starting next week. Read more here.
Up to 86% of adults in Lincolnshire are double-jabbed, and over 25% of 12-15-year-olds.
A special lights show celebrating Lincolnshire’s plants will take place at Boultham Park on Saturday.
The Lincspirational Lightshow will start at 5.30pm on October 23 after the original event was postponed earlier this month due to the weather forecast.
The free show is the final of event of Lincolnshire Wildlife Trusts’ LoveLincsPlants project.
The evening will feature a lightshow parade, artwork projects, park illuminations and music inspired by nature from Sinfonia Viva. During the event the 30 artworks created by the public will be projected onto a large screen.
There will also be an opportunity to bid on the 130 artworks submitted as part of the exhibition. They will be available via an online action, with the 30 winning pieces starting at £40.
The evening will feature a lightshow parade, artwork projects, park illuminations, and more. | Photo: Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust
The money raised from the sale of the artworks will help fund nature’s recovery in Lincolnshire. It will also help the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust create wildflower rich habitats across the county.
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