South Cumbrians recognised in The King's Birthday Honours

The Honours system gives national recognition to people who have given exceptional service in public and community life and are committed to making a difference to those around them.

It was revealed last night that two south Cumbria residents had been given the honour.

Among those is Barrow resident Dennis Laird who has been awarded the honour for his services to the community in town.

Dennis was a member of the local coastguard for over 30 years and was the chairman of school governors at Walney School. The 75-year-old was also chairman of Barrow Credit Union and is currently a board member for the local charity Safa.

Dennis Laird was given the Medallist of the Order of the British Empire (BEM) (Image: Submitted) He is a joint founder and Chairman of the North Scale Residents’ Association, established in 1993 to represent the interests and provide facilities for the residents of the Walney village. 

Reacting to the news he said: "Very proud and surprising moment because I did not have a clue who nominated me and why.

"It means a great deal to me because I do not do things for recognition but it is nice to know that somebody somewhere thought that what I did was worthy of recognition and the fact that the system has agreed.

"I am old-fashioned enough to believe that you should put something back into the community in which you live in and that was my way of doing it."

Jayne Moorby, Head of Marketing at Oxley Group in Ulverston, has also been recognised in the 2024 Birthday Honours list for her services to the defence and aerospace industry. 

Jayne Moorby was named Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) (Image: Submitted)

The 47-year-old is also the Co-Chair of the Defence PaSMEC (Primes and SME Community), a Northern Powerhouse Export Champion, supporting other businesses on their export journey, and sits on the Make UK Regional Advisory Board representing the interests of the manufacturing community. 

Developing the skills of young people is a particular area of interest and Jayne is Chair of the Cumbria Cornerstone Employer Group and Chair of skills charity FESP.

Jayne said: "I’m deeply honoured to have received this recognition, it means a great deal. Since joining Oxley in 2012, I have had the privilege of working for a brilliant company in a fascinating industry.

"We have an extremely talented team at Oxley creating cutting-edge technology, I’m immensely proud to be part of that team and to have the opportunity to promote the UK's sovereign aerospace and defence capability around the world. Small and medium-sized businesses account for 95% of this industry and I am committed to always ensuring their voice is heard in the industry.

"In order to maintain and protect the UK's world-leading position in defence technology we need to develop skills and support local young people into highly skilled and highly valued roles. The collaborative work that I am proud to be part of in Cumbria is ensuring this happens and that future generations will continue to deliver our legacy of innovation."

Anyone can nominate someone for a UK Honour through the 'open access' system and awards are given to people from all walks of life.

The final decision as to who receives an honour is first decided by an Honours Committee and their recommendations go to the Prime Minister and finally to HM The King for approval.