Community champions and unsung heroes celebrated in 2025 Honours

31 Dec 2024 09:36 AM

More than 50 people from Wales have received honours in HM The King’s New Year Honours List for 2025.

58 people from Wales have received honours in HM The King’s New Year Honours List 2025, published today.

This year’s recipients have been awarded for their outstanding contributions across all sectors, but in particular community champions and selfless giving are recognised. The List ensures that people from under-represented communities and a wide variety of types of work are rewarded, to celebrate the fantastic contribution of people throughout the country.

Recipients from Wales make up 5% of the total number of recipients receiving honours this year.

Anyone can nominate someone for an honour. If you know someone who has achieved fantastic things worthy of recognition, you can nominate them at https://www.gov.uk/honours.

Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens said:

Huge congratulations to all the recipients from Wales who have been recognised on the New Year Honours List.

It is inspirational to see the wonderful work done by so many people from a huge range of backgrounds, from every part of Wales and in every sector of life. These are people who give their time freely to raise money for charity or volunteer to help vulnerable members of their community.

Whether their passion lies in sport, health and wellbeing or music and the arts, their contributions make a huge difference to all our lives and I’d like to thank each and every one of them.

Notable recipients across Wales

• Richard Parry from Cardiff receives a BEM for services to Music and to Choral Singing. He has accompanied some of Wales’ and the UK’s leading performers including Rebecca Evans, Katherine Jenkins, Shan Cothi, Gwawr Edwards, Beverley Humphreys, John Owen Jones, Rhys Meirion and Lesley Garrett. He became the accompanist of the internationally acclaimed Pendyrus Male Choir in 1973 and has remained until the present day, being awarded Life Membership of the choir in 1994.
• Diane Locke from Penrhiwceiber receives a BEM for services to the community of Penrhiwceiber, Rhondda Cynon Taff. She seeks out grants and initiatives aimed at uplifting deprived areas, making significant advances in community development. One of her notable achievements is the transformation of Lee Gardens Pool, from a neglected facility into a vibrant community hub. In addition to her community focused initiatives, Diane plays a vital role in supporting vulnerable groups, such as new mothers, through programs like Baby Basics.
• Moawia Bin-Sufyan from Cardiff receives an MBE for services to Community Cohesion and Inter-Faith Relations in South Wales. He has been a driving force for interfaith dialogue and community cohesion in South Wales for over 20 years. He is the founder and board member of multiple charities, working actively in his local community to promote diversity and healthcare, especially among the Welsh Islamic community.
• Sabrina Fortune from Mold receives an MBE for athletics. She is acknowledged by her National Governing Body as the world’s leading women’s F20 shot putter, having won the world title three times and most recently the gold at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris. At the Rio Paralympics in 2016 she won bronze on her Games debut with a personal best throw of 12.94m. In 2018 she claimed her first major title, winning the F20 shot put European gold in Berlin. During her preparation for the Paralympics she set a new world record in July in Birmingham, as well as in Kobe, Japan, before winning gold in Paris with her first throw of the competition, breaking her own world record in the process.
• Francesca Bell from Brecon receives a BEM for services to Community Development in Bannau Bycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park. She has worked as the National Park Authority’s Community Development Officer over the past 10 years. She has championed the engagement of all sections of the community and visitors to access and enjoy the natural beauty of the National Park and its landscapes. In her personal capacity, she has been a long-standing community volunteer in Brecon and surrounding area.
• Anyone can nominate someone for an honour here: https://www.gov.uk/honours.