As we approach the end of the year, 29 people from around Kent have been named on the King’s New Year Honours List for 2025. The list marks the achievements and service of extraordinary people across the country.
From television legends to the founders of an amazing charity helping children battling brain cancer, our county can be very proud of the remarkable individuals representing the Garden of England on this year’s list. Among those honoured this year are husband and wife Amanda and Raymond Mifsud.
The couple, from Brabourne near Ashford, are the co-founders of Abbie’s Army, a charity dedicated to helping children diagnosed with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) – a fast growing form of brain cancer. After losing their six-year-old daughter Abbie to the disease in September 2011, Amanda and Raymond set up Abbie’s Army in 2012 to support other children and families facing DIPG.
On their website they state: “Completely compelled by the sheer hopelessness and helplessness we felt by the total lack of treatment options, the only thing we could do was at least try to prevent it happening to other families in the future. We have already played our own small part in hopefully bringing forth much needed advancements in the treatment of this universally fatal tumour.
“We only wish we could do so much more. Abbie was our whole world; no parent ever wants to hear that there is no cure and no hope and they should never have to.”
Amanda and Raymond have now been made Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for their charitable services to children and families dealing with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma and to brain tumour research. They join numerous other influential Kent residents on the list, including Doctor Who legend Tom Baker.
Best known as the fourth iteration of the enigmatic Doctor in the hit BBC sci-fi series, Tom is no stranger to the Garden of England, having actually lived here for a number of years. Born in Liverpool, the 90-year-old has called multiple slices of Kent home in his life, including Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells.
Tom has been very open about his love of Kent. Previously speaking to Great British Life, he discussed his college days: “I managed to see a fair bit of Kent at the time and I liked what I saw – you could be on the coast in a jiffy and in London in a jiffy in the other direction.” He added: “What a beautiful county – the Garden of England. It really is too.”
Now, the former Time Lord has been honoured with an MBE for his services to television. Find the full list below.
Order of the Bath – Companions of the Order of the Bath (CB)
Sarah Winifred Albon, from Tenterden. Chief Executive, Health and Safety Executive, Department for Work and Pensions. For service to Public Administration.
Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
Austin Christopher Daboh, from Rochester. Executive Vice-President, Atlantic Records UK. For services to Music
Professor John Crofton Harle, from Canterbury. Musician. For services to Music.
Paul David Hudson, from Maidstone. Lately Planning Advisor, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. For services to Town Planning.
Rosie Marr, from Tunbridge Wells. Deputy Director, Cabinet Office. For Public Service.
Geoffrey Arthur Miles DL, from Hythe. For services to the Business and Voluntary Sectors.
David Oldfield, from Sevenoaks. Lately Interim Group Chief Operating Officer, Lloyds Banking Group. For services to Workplace Mental Health and Well-being, and to Disability.
Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
Thomas Stewart Baker, from Maidstone. Actor and Writer. For services to Television.
Katherine Jane Batt, from Rochester. Lately Treasurer, City of Rochester Swimming and Lifeguard Club. For Voluntary Service to Swimming and to the Royal Life Saving Society
Alexander Angus Cameron, from Rochester. Co-Chair, High Street Heritage Action Zone and Co-Chair, Intra Community Trust. For services to Heritage and the community in Kent.
Lisa Evans, from New Romney. Manager, Abacus Nursery and Childcare Ltd, Kent. For services to Early Years.
Lawrence David McKee, from Sevenoaks. Chair, Wealden Sailability and Trustee, Rockdale Sheltered Housing. For charitable services to Disabled People and to the community in Kent.
Susan Medway, from Herne Bay. Director and Curator, Chelsea Physic Garden. For services to Horticulture and to Charity.
Amanda Mifsud, from Ashford. Co-Founder, Abbie’s Army. For charitable services to Children and Families dealing with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma and to Brain Tumour Research.
Raymond Mifsud, from Ashford. Co-Founder, Abbie’s Army. For charitable services to Children and Families dealing with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma and to Brain Tumour Research.
Edwin Charinge Ndlovu, from Ashford. Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chief Executive, East London NHS Foundation Trust. For services to the NHS and to Nursing.
Bryher Charlotte Jane Pennells, from Sevenoaks. SEND Teacher, Charlton Park Academy, London. For services to Children and Young People with SEND.
Anna Ruth Twomlow, from Sevenoaks. Witness Care Coordinator, Serious Fraud Office. For services to the Administration of Justice.
David Ward, from Rochester. Founder and Trustee, Abigail’s Footsteps. For services to Bereaved Parents of Stillborn Children, particularly in Kent.
William Wyatt, from Maidstone. Chair, Halliwick Association of Swimming Therapy. For services to Disabled People.
Emily Elizabeth Craig, from Maidenhead, Berkshire, born in Kent. For services to Rowing.
Emily Craig and Imogen Grant celebrate gold for Team GB
(Image: David Pearce/Team GB)
Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM)
Susan Boon, from Ashford. For services to the community in Biddenden, Kent and to Charity.
Wilhelmina Nina Cooper, from Canterbury. For services to Charitable Fundraising and to the community in Kent.
June Rosemary Cox, from Gillingham. For services to the community in Bredhurst, Kent.
Dennis Edward Moore, from Orpington. For services to the community in Orpington, London Borough of Bromley.
Elizabeth O’Hanlon, from Gillingham. For services to the Environment and to Sustainability in Rainham, Kent.
Russell John Parker, from Gravesend. Founder, Meopham Sports and Leisure Association. For services to the community in Meopham, Kent.
Lee Woolcott-Ellis, from Ramsgate. Mental Health Lead Manager, Southeastern Railway. For services to Mental Health in Transport.
King’s Police Medal (KPM)
Ross Dorman, lately Constable, Kent Police