Caterham Festival Chairman, Andy Parr, has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for his Services to the Community in Caterham, Surrey.

As well as being Festival Chairman, Andy is on the Caterham Carnival Committee, is a member of Caterham Rotary Club, an honorary member of Caterham Round Table and Assistant District Commissioner for the Scouts.

Andy received a letter notifying him of the award back in May, but was not able to share his good news until the publication of the Honours List on Saturday 14th June, the day of the Caterham Carnival. Word soon spread and scores of people were congratulating Andy at the Carnival, including entertainer, Professor Crump!

Andy said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be honoured with an MBE but there are loads of other people in Caterham also doing lots in the community to help make it a great place to live.”

Andy has promised not to wear his trademark shorts when he goes to Buckingham Palace to receive his award! Two other Caterham residents also received MBEs - Rachel Starling for Services to the Rail Industry and Jane Bond for Services to Policing.

As Director of Property Services for the Metropolitan Police Service, Jane‘s work has been focussed on how the Metropolitan Police can best use its estate to support policing in London.

Jane said: “I’m thrilled to have been included in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. The Property Services Department that I work in is seeing a huge transformation, which is enabling savings to be reinvested back into policing. To get recognition for this is testament to how significant it is for policing in London.”

Rachel Starling is being awarded an MBE for her Services to the Rail Industry. As Environment Manager for HS1, Rachel has been managing the environmental impact of the line from St. Pancras to the Channel Tunnel since the project’s inception, and her expertise is now being used for HS2.

Rachel said: “It has not sunk in yet. I was awarded a National Rail Award for Manager of the Year last year, so for me this is the icing on the cake. Being involved in HS1 all the way through and then to get personal recognition for my work is really fabulous!”