New Year Honours For Four Bailiwick Residents

Four islanders have been named in the Queen's New Year Honours list, three of whom for their service during the coronavirus pandemic.

Deputy Heidi Soulsby, Dr Sue Fleming and Nicky Harrison have all been made an MBE, while Ronnie Cairnduff from Alderney has received the British Empire Medal.

Deputy Soulsby has been recognised for her services to healthcare while she was Health and Social Care president. She was also a member of the Civil Contingencies Authority, helping to design the island's protective measures against the virus while balancing the risks to the public's health against the protection of islanders' liberty and the economy.

"When I found out I was absolutely shocked, it's certainly nothing I ever expected. I'm really humbled by it as well because it's certainly never anything I was expecting. You don't work on the basis of expecting anything at all, so it was a real shock when I found out."

She told Island FM that the award reflects efforts made by the whole HSC team and the wider community. 

"What was great for me was that people saw that this year. It's a small team but they've done fantastic work from the frontline, through to those people who directly provided information and advice to the committee that enabled us to make the decisions we did." 

Dr Fleming, who is the matron at St John's Residential Home, led a healthcare team to support a care home with early Covid-19 cases and supported other local care homes:

"What's important for me is that while I've been given this award, I can't not acknowledge all the people around me, my family, the board of directors that I have, the amazing team at the home that I have and all my colleagues that work constantly in the residential and nursing home care sector."

Nicky Harrison is the Chief Executive Officer of St John Ambulance and was responsible for leading St John's volunteer response during the pandemic as the States looked to the organisation to coordinate the third sector. 

She paid tribute to the efforts made by the community during the pandemic.

"I think the collaboration and working together, it was all for a common cause. And I think that was just fantastic, it was so humbling to see. All the staff and volunteers at St John in addition to the extra volunteers who came forward, everyone went above and beyond."

Ronnie Cairnduff has been recognised for his services to entertainment and culture in Alderney. He's been a stalwart in the local music and theatre scene and stepped in at short notice to coordinate the highly successful and Covid-compliant Alderney Week festivities during the summer. 

He told Island FM he was thrilled to learn the news.

"I was absolutely honoured and very chuffed to be honest. When you look back at all the various things I've been involved with, it's very nice to be recognised like this and the achievements I've been putting into the island over my long, long years."

Many congratulations to the 2021 #Guernsey and #Alderney #newyearshonours recipients: Deputy Heidi Soulsby MBE, Dr Susan Fleming MBE, Mrs Nicola Harrison MBE and Mr Ronald Cairnduff BEM. Wonderful news and very well deserved! Thank you all for your outstanding service. pic.twitter.com/GJFogD84pr

— Gov House Guernsey (@GvHouseGuernsey) December 30, 2020