Honours: Selfless servants decorated

West Sussex Chief Fire Officer Martin Burrell has followed in his father's footsteps by being awarded the prestigious Queen's Fire Service Medal.

Mr Burrell's father Don Burrell, from Saltdean, was presented with the medal in the mid-Seventies as the then deputy chief fire officer of London.

It was his father's achievements which inspired Mr Burrell to become a firefighter.

He said: "As a young boy I was in awe of my father. Seeing the work he did spurred me on to reach the same heights. I suppose you could say that I have now."

Mr Burrell, 49, became a firefighter in London in 1973 and spent four years working under his father's command.

He remained in London until the early-Nineties and was one of the first on the scene of the Kings Cross underground station fire.

By 1992 he had risen to senior divisional officer and had transferred to West Sussex. In 1996 he moved to Somerset as deputy chief fire officer but returned to West Sussex in 1996 as chief fire officer.

June McCulloch's dedication to others has helped her become an MBE in recognition of her services to the Royal Air Forces Association.

Miss McCulloch, 78, of Brighton, has worked for the organisation for more than 50 years.

Since 1986 she has been the association's Brighton and Hove branch Wings Appeal organiser, assistant honorary welfare officer and sick visitor.

She has helped raise thousands of pounds for the charity.

Miss McCulloch said: "The work of the association is very important. To be part of it fills me with deep satisfaction."

A grandmother who has dedicated her life to charity work is among those recognised.

Dorothy Willard, known as Dixie, from East Preston, near Littlehampton, has been made an MBE for services to Save the Children fund in Sussex.

She has been involved with the charity for 62 years and is manager of its Littlehampton shop.

Mrs Willard, 80, said: "You never expect to get something like this. It is a great honour."

She was spurred into action while a young nurse on a children's ward when she started taking part in fund-raising events.

At the end of the Second World War she was posted to Germany where she helped reunite refugee children with their families.

When she and her late husband Victor moved to West Sussex she continued as a volunteer for the charity while running a nursing home in East Preston.

Martin Tomlinson, a senior manager at West Sussex County Youth Services, said working with youngsters had been a rewarding career.

Mr Tomlinson, 51, a father-of-two from Chichester, who was made an MBE, said: "I hope this honour encourages more people to get involved in youth work."

Stephen Johnson, from Bognor, an area highway engineer at West Sussex County Council, was made an MBE for services to the highways network.

With more than three decades of firefighting under his belt, Peter Winter thought he had seen it all but never expected an MBE.

Sub Officer Winter is based at the retained fire station in Pevensey, near Eastbourne, where he has served the county for 36 years.

He will receive the accolade for his dedication to the fire service.

Mr Winter, of Hobney Rise, Westham, said: "I have known about this since November and so have all my family. They were very pleased."

Mr Winter, who owns his own painting and decorating company, was due to retire when he reached his 55th birthday next month but sought special permission to stay on for a few more months until he completes a full 36 years.

He became officer in charge of the station when he was 28 and has not looked back since.

Another Sussex resident honoured, this time for services to museum education, is Harry Ford.

Mr Ford, a planetarium lecturer at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London, was delighted when he received his letter.

He said: "I could not believe it because there are so many people who are more deserving of it, even in my field."

Mr Ford, 64, of Sandown Road, Eastbourne, lectures in astronomy to schools and the general public.

He said: "I have been here for 16 years but have been doing this all my life really."

Bryan Gibson, from Hailsham, has also been made an MBE for his services to engineering.

Mr Gibson works as clerk to the Worshipful Company of Engineers.

The company was founded in 1983 and seeks to promote the science, art and practice of engineering in London and elsewhere around the country.

Mr Gibson said: "It is a great honour. Apparently I will be summoned to the Palace in about six months for an awards ceremony which I am looking forward to.

"I hope to take my wife Mary and our two children."

Technical manager Roy Mitchell has been made an MBE for services to the defence industry.

Mr Mitchell, from Seaford, works for Thales Avionics, based in London.

The firm makes aviation electronics.

Jim Hicks, chairman of Brighton electronics company Amplicon Liveline on the Centenary Industrial Estate, has also been made an MBE for services to business and the community in Sussex.

Gillian Norris, of Rotherfield, near Crowborough, is being made an MBE for services to young people in Tunbridge Wells.

His stories may be more than 50 years old but Anthony Buckeridge's tales of a mischievous schoolboy continue to delight their original readers and their grandchildren.

Mr Buckeridge, 90, who lives in Barcombe Mills, near Lewes, with his wife Eileen, is being made an OBE for his services to literature.

Mr Buckeridge has been convalescing following a spell in hospital six months ago where he was given a blood transfusion for abdominal problems.

He has written 25 books featuring his hero, Jennings. More than six million copies have been sold worldwide.

Mr Buckeridge said: "I was not expecting it. It was a complete surprise."

Professor John Chesshire's interest in energy began when he was a child and discovered he lived in the same Birmingham street as James Watt, who invented the steam engine.

However, Prof Chesshire's real work on energy issues took off after the 1973 fuel crisis. For 30 years he has been involved in researching energy and advising the Government in UK and Europe.

Prof Chesshire, 55, of Stanford Avenue, Brighton, is being made an OBE for services to energy efficiency and particularly his work as chairman of the Energy Action Grant Agency.

He is an honorary professor at Sussex University where he worked for 28 years and led the UK research council's National Energy Policy Centre.

He is also an associate fellow of Oxford University and visiting professor of City University as well as a past president of the Institute of Energy.

He is a member of the Government's energy advisory panel, chairman of the Energy Efficiency Partnership for Homes, deputy chairman of the Government's fuel Poverty Advisory Group and chairman of the National Energy Foundation.

Prof Chesshire said he was astonished to find out he was to be made an OBE and was planning an extra-special New Year celebration.

He said: "You never know about these things. It came out of the blue.

"I am delighted for myself and the charity and all the work it has been doing.

"We will have a super New Year's party."

Bill Garland said his OBE was as much for the work of his charity as it was for himself.

Mr Garland, 51, of Ravens Road, Shoreham, is being presented with the award for his services to young people through his work as deputy chief executive of Community Service Volunteers (CSV).

CSV is an organisation which organises ways for people to volunteer in their community.

It is responsible for Make A Difference Day, which is a day of volunteering for organisations and individuals, and Barclays New Future, which gives grants to schools to involves the community in the life of the school.

Mr Garland's service to young people through the charity includes creating training opportunities for disadvantaged young people across the UK and advising the Government on issues affecting young people.

Mr Garland, who is married to Val and has a daughter, Jessica, 20, and a son, Tom, 22, said: "In a lot of ways this award reflects the organisation I work with.

"We will have a big celebration at work for my colleagues.

"When you work for a charity it is as much for the people involved."

A trade magazine veteran has been made an OBE after almost 40 years in the food industry.

Clive Beddall, 60, of Felpham, was picked for the New Year's Honours list because of his ongoing dedication to the food industry during his career at The Grocer magazine.

The Grocer is a trade magazine based in Crawley and is owned by the William Reed Group.

Mr Beddall joined the magazine in 1964 as northern editor after leaving his job at the Lancashire Evening Post.

For the past ten years, Mr Beddall has been editor of The Grocer but he recently became editor-at-large for the whole William Reed Group and also travels the world promoting a major trade event called the Food and Drink Expo taking place in 2004, at Birmingham.

Mr Beddall said he originally moved to the magazine because the low wages on evening papers were preventing him from marrying - and had never looked back.

The father-of-two said: "Britain imports so much food, there is not a country in the world I have not worked in."

He said one of his proudest achievements was getting an exclusive story about Princess Margaret, at Buckingham Palace, when she made it clear she did not agree with Prince Charles' views on genetically-modified food.

Mr Beddall said: "I have been very lucky to head a good group of people and the OBE is a tribute to them as much as me."

Timothy John Godwin, deputy assistant commissioner for the Metropolitan Police, was made an OBE for services to the police.

Mr Godwin, of Ridgewood, near Uckfield, started his career in the Sussex Police in September 1981 and by 1992 he had reached the rank of superintendent.

He was appointed head of personnel and then divisional commander for a large operational command unit.

In 1996 he became the force crime manager for Sussex.

He joined the Metropolitan Police in 1999 where he had responsibility for major crime investigations in south London.

His most recent responsibility was developing crime strategies and initiatives for London crime operations.

Originally from Essex, Mr Godwin went to Haywards Heath Grammar School.

Also made an OBE was Robert Cotton, chief executive of the British Hospitality Association, who lives in The Promenade, Peacehaven, for services to tourism and hospitality industries.