Arise Sir Patrick - plus gongs for Jenson Button, Beth Tweddle and the Quo (From The Oxford Times)

Arise Sir Patrick - plus gongs for Jenson Button, Beth Tweddle and the Quo

12:10am Thursday 31st December 2009 in

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AMONG the big names honoured nationally, there were knighthoods for Star Trek and X-Men star Patrick Stewart, National Theatre director Nicholas Hytner, and rugby legend Ian McGeechan.

There were MBEs for Formula One world champion Jenson Button and top British gymnast, Beth Tweddle.

And the two remaining original members of Status Quo, Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi, received OBEs to mark their hugely successful musical career, including more than 118 million record sales worldwide.

But the vast majority of the awards went to ordinary people who have gone the extra mile to make a difference to the lives of people around them.

They include a DBE for Claire Bertschinger, for services to nursing and to international aid. She was the inspiration for Bob Geldof to organise the Band Aid charity and Live Aid.

OBEs were awarded to children’s author Dick King-Smith, who wrote the book that became the 1995 film Babe, and health writer and broadcaster Dr Miriam Stoppard.

An MBE also awarded to Rebecca Hosking, who headed the successful campaign to make Modbury in Devon the first town in Britain to ban plastic bags.