Bristol people receive Queen's birthday honours

The Bristol school teacher who made Latin "cool" has been honoured by the Queen.

Barbara Bell, 57, a classics teacher at Clifton High School, published Minimus, a Latin course for primary schools, in 1999.

Minimus, and its follow-up Minimus Secundus, introduce young children to Latin and English grammar through the adventures of the mouse in two Roman towns.

More than 100,000 copies have now been sold.

Barbara, of Ashton, was made an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list today for services to local and national education.

She said: "I can't believe it – it's so exciting. I've known for a month and it has been a nightmare having to keep quiet."

She said she decided to write the book in 1994 after realising many 11-year-olds were unclear about the rules of English grammar.

Fellow teacher David Turrell, the headmaster of Sir Bernard Lovell School in Oldland Common and chairman of the Kingswood 14-19 Partnership, was made a CBE for services to education.

Shobha Das, 43, the former deputy director of SARI (Support Against Racist Incidents) was made an MBE for services to community relations in Bristol.

Dr Tim Chambers, 63, who works with young kidney patients at Bristol Children's Hospital, was made an OBE.

Dr Chambers, who also works at Southmead Hospital and is also Bristol's High Sheriff, set up the children's service for the South West region and there are now seven doctors treating young patients with complex illnesses.

He said: "It's a humbling experience realising parents entrust their children's welfare to me or other doctors."

Peaches Golding, 49, of Leigh Woods, regional director of Business in the Community, also becomes an OBE for services to black and minority ethnic people in the South West.

Celebrity agent John Miles, who chairs the Bristol Urological Institute's Prostate Cancer Appeal and the Friends of Bristol Oncology Centre, has been made an MBE for his services to cancer charities.

John, 68, of Clapton-in-Gordano, who was successfully treated for prostate cancer, has helped raise millions of pounds for research, equipment and patient care.

He said: "I don't think I deserve it as much as my dear mum Alice, who spent all her spare time raising money for charity. She was my inspiration."

Evening Post sports columnist Alastair Hignell was made CBE for his services to sport and charity.

Norris Myers, 62, of Brentry, an international trade adviser working for UK Trade and Investment, advising companies in the creative industry, has been appointed an OBE for services to business in the South West and to international trade.

Mr Myers said he was "stunned and gobsmacked" by his award. He said: "It is, without a shadow of a doubt, the pinnacle of my career."

Jamila Aftab, of Greenbank, has been made an MBE for services to the community in St Paul's.

She is one of the founding members of Humdard – formerly the St Paul's Asian Women's Group.

Mrs Aftab came from Pakistan with her husband Aftab Ahmed in 1972 and having learned from the cultural and social challenges to adjusting to life in the UK has spent 23 years working to give women like her the support she never had.

Professor Leslie Bunt, 57, of Redland, is a founding director of the Southville-based charity The MusicSpace Trust, and was made an MBE for services to music therapy.

Prof Bunt, Professor in Music Therapy at the University of the West of England and also musical director of the Bristol Phoenix Choir, said: "When I got the letter, at first I thought it was a parking fine or something, so it was a nice surprise when I realised what it actually was. It means a lot to the charity and for music therapy as a nationwide registered profession."

Dr Penny Dobson, former director of Kingswood-based organisation Education and Resources for Improving Childhood Continence, has been appointed an MBE for services to healthcare.

Penny, 62, of Redland, set up the organisation in 1987. She said: "It is fantastic for me and also for the cause – anything that highlights the needs of these children is great, that is what I have dedicated the last 20 years of my life to."

Bristol University physicist and broadcaster Professor Kathy Sykes, was awarded an OBE for services to science and technology. She has appeared on the TV series Rough Science and is co-founder and director of the Cheltenham Science Festival.

Rosa Hui, director of the Bristol and Avon Chinese Women's Group receives an MBE for nearly 20 years of service to the Chinese community.

Mrs Hui, of Stapleton, said: "Without the support of my team and colleagues in the community I don't think I could have lasted this long."

Brian Shrubsall, of Yatton, has been awarded an OBE for his work on armour for British military vehicles.

The 61-year-old, a senior scientist at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down, Wiltshire, said: "It is a source of great satisfaction to know that I've been able to contribute to the safety of our armoured forces."

Also receiving MBEs are Timothy Hockenhull and David Luney, who work for the Ministry of Defence in Bristol and Richard Pearce, for services to disadvantaged people in Bristol.

A former English professor at Bristol University, Christopher Ricks, 75, has been knighted. Professor Ricks, 75, now based at Boston University in the USA, is recognised as one of the greatest living critics of English literature.