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'Tiger who came to tea' author on Queen's honours list

Judith Kerr receives an OBE for her services to children's literature and Holocaust education.

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Judge Clive Callman has been knighted in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to law, education and charity.

The judge has been part of the Anglo-Jewish Association since 1956, and is a governor of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

He is also director of the Jewish Studies Foundation in London.

Another new knight is Sir Brian Pomeroy, honoured for his services to financial inclusion and the voluntary sector.

Sir Brian, who already holds a CBE, recently appeared on a panel at the Liberal Jewish Synagogue discussing global increases in slavery. He has held many prestigious positions, including chair of the Treasury’s Financial Inclusion Taskforce. He is currently chairman of the Responsible Gambling Strategy Board, and is on the board of the Financial Services Authority.

A CBE has gone to Glaswegian Dr David Walton for services to charity and the community in Glasgow.

The Walton Foundation, which Dr Walton set up with his parents in 1964, has benefited many medical causes and care organisations through donations, including funding construction of the Walton Community Care Centre, which houses Jewish Care Scotland, the Jewish Blind Society, and Cosgrove Care, a charity that supports people with learning disabilities.

Dr Walton, a member of Giffnock and Newlands Hebrew Congregation, said that the award was “very gratifying for the foundation”, and “tremendous on a personal level”.

Two Holocaust survivors, one of whom is a veteran children's author, have also been honoured.

Mala Tribich receives a MBE for her services to education. Mrs Tribich, born in Poland and survivor of two Nazi death camps, volunteers at the Holocaust Education Trust and Imperial War Museum in London.

The writer of the children's classic, The Tiger Who Came To Tea, Judith Kerr, receives an OBE for her services to children's literature and Holocaust education. Mrs Kerr, 89, who created the cat hero Mog, has also written three autobiographical novels that follow her journey from Nazi Germany to London. One is the much-admired When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit.

Felicity Green has been awarded an OBE for services to journalism. Ms Green, a pioneer in the 60's fashion scene, was among the first to write about Twiggy and Mary Quant. Later on she became associate editor of the Daily Mirror, the first woman to be appointed to the board of a national paper. Ms Green has also advised the boards of the Express, the Telegraph, Marks and Spencer's in-house magazine and, more recently, has mentored at the University of Arts London.

Lady Chinn receives a CBE for her charitable services to health and arts. Lady Chinn, wife of Sir Trevor Chinn, vice-president of the Jewish Leadership Council, has devoted 40 years to Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) as a volunteer and a special trustee. She is also a board member at the National Theatre and chairs its development council.

David Leon Teacher receives a MBE for services to ex-service organisations, specifically the Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women, and to charity in Great Manchester.

Joshua Berger receives a CBE for his services to the creative industries. President and managing director of Warner Bros Entertainment UK, Mr Berger has contributed greatly to the film industry for over 20 years. In 2009 he was appointed to the UK Film Council's board of directors. He is also a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a member of BAFTA, the British Screen Advisory Council, the Young Presidents' Organisation, and an associate on the International Council of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Michael Grabiner, chair of Partnership for Schools, receives a CBE for services to education. Mr Grabiner has been a trustee and chair of governors for the cross-denominational school JCoss, senior vice-chair of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, chair of ResponseAbility, a member of the Jewish Community Day Schools Advisory Board and a trustee and member of the Board of the UK Jewish Film Festival. He is a member of Finchley Reform Synagogue.

Mike Fuhr has been awarded a CBE for his work in turning the nationwide train service Crossrail into a reality, as well as his role in setting up the government structures which allowed for the building of the London 2012 Olympic Stadium.

Mr Fuhr, who has been a civil servant for nearly 40 years, said that he felt “very lucky” to receive the award, explaining that “my parents came here fleeing the Nazis. England accepted them when no-one else would, and now I've been honoured by my country in a way I never thought would be the case.”

A member of Reading Hebrew Congregation, Mr Fuhr received an OBE in 2000 for his role in revitalising the High Speed 1 railway line, which takes passengers all the way up to the British end of the Channel Tunnel.

Solihull resident Michael Leek has been awarded an OBE for services to sport for disabled children and to the community in Solihull and Birmingham.

He provides disabled children with golf training, and has coached over 3,500 enthusiasts so far, while raising £80,000 for disabled golf provision.

Mr Leek said that he was “really pleased and proud to be recognised.”

He was also instrumental in raising £1 million to pay for a scanner at his local hospital, and the £2 million which was needed to build the Andrew Cohen House Care Home in Birmingham.

Hugh Ogus has been awarded an MBE for services to education through the Mary Hare School for the Deaf in Newbury, Berkshire, and the Lighting Education Trust.

Mr Ogus, a member of Stanmore Synagogue, has played a large role in running the Mary Hare School for the Deaf, which he chaired from 1992-2008. The school provides free education for children with profound or severe hearing losses, and was recently rated “outstanding” by Ofsted.

He admitted that even though “one doesn’t do the work hoping that one’s going to get a gong”, it was nevertheless “very nice to be appreciated”, especially as “the people I’ve been working with are very happy.”

Mr Ogus also founded the Lighting Education Trust in 1995, and continues to serve as chairman. Under his stewardship, the charitable trust has raised the overall standards of lighting practice in the UK by encouraging, overseeing and funding education in the discipline.

Baroness Beeban Kidron, 51, receives an OBE for services to drama. Film director Baroness Kidron adapted Jeanette Winterson’s novel, Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit, and in 2004 she directed Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. In 2008 she co-founded the charity Filmclub and in the same year she became a board member of the UK Film Council.

Dr Jennifer Montagu has been awarded a CBE for services to art history.

Dr Montagu, whose father, the late Hon Ewen Montagu, was president of the United Synagogue, has also earned a Legion d’Honneur and Cavalliera from France and Italy respectively, as well as a Royal Victorian Order for advising the Queen on matters related to the royal art collection.

In an interview with Art Tribune in 2008, Dr Montague said: “I always wanted to find out how artists worked, what the relationship between the fine arts and the minor arts was … all of that interested me before and still does now.”

Dr Montagu was curator of the photographic collection at the Warburg Institute from 1971 to 1991, where she is now Honorary Fellow. She also served as Slade Professor of Fine Art at Cambridge University, and has written several books and academic papers on art history.

Nita Bharier, of the League of Jewish Women Barnet, has been awarded the recently re-established BEM (Medallist of the Order of the British Empire) for her services to the Jewish community in Enfield, Barnet and Haringey.

In the 1970’s, Ms Bharier co-founded a kosher meals-on-wheels service for housebound locals, but she soon realised that these people also needed companionship.
In 1981, this led her to co-found the Henriques House Jewish Day Centre, now known as the Woodside Park Jewish Day Centre. Ms Bharier is still chairperson of the Day Centre, and a regular volunteer.

Phillip Froomberg has been awarded a BEM for voluntary service to the SSAFA Forces Help (Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association). Mr Froomberg, a retired managing director, volunteered in Merton, in south west London, to aid the armed forces charity, which gives practical assistance to anyone who has ever served in the military.

Joseph Schleider has been honoured with a BEM for his services to the Jewish community in north west London.

The award recognises Mr Schleider’s work in raising funds and organising the construction of Bayis Sheli, a £6 million residential facility for physically disabled children from all over Britain.

Mr Schleider said it was “a very special honour to get a Queen’s medal”, though he added: “I’m sure there are others who have done more than I have.”

The house, based in Stamford Hill, will provide a permanent home for 12 children and temporary accommodation for many others.

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