King’s Birthday Honours 2024: Full list of people from Edinburgh and the Lothians receiving MBEs and BEMs

Celebrating community champions and innovative social entrepreneurs, to passionate health workers and dedicated volunteers - this year’s list recognises those who have initiated substantial change where it was needed and made an immeasurable impact on the lives of thousands of people across the country.

Over 115 people from across Scotland have received honours in HM The King’s Birthday Honours List 2024 which was published last night by the Cabinet Office. 

Over 115 people from across Scotland have received honours in HM The King’s Birthday Honours List 2024

British Empire Medal (BEM) 

 

Joseph Gordon Cameron

Joseph Gordon Cameron, 66, from Edinburgh, received a BEM for services to cultural heritage in Scotland and to charity.

Elected to the joint office of Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer of The Royal Celtic Society three decades ago, Mr Cameron transformed it from terminal decline to a rejuvenated organisation, bringing in younger members, providing start-up funds for Gaelic playgroups in the Highlands, and establishing relationships with Gaelic medium schools.

Since retiring in 2020, he remains a committed member of the Society's Council and is the Treasurer of Great Polish Map of Scotland which is now active in support for Ukraine. Gordon also gives his time to The Friends of the Pentlands, a group that works to conserve the Pentland Hills as a habitat for nature and to ensure safe access for all.

Margaret Mary Donaldson

Margaret Mary Donaldson, 77, from Midlothian received a BEM for services to the Edinburgh community.

Margaret, a highly skilled organist, keyboard player and accompanist at the Wardie Parish Church is credited for keeping the choir going and increasing its appeal as well as  providing impromptu music for the Church Guild for older people, the Holiday Club for younger members, and the annual pantomime.

As a teacher of piano, she has dozens of pupils who have benefitted from her endless support and often accompanies instrumentalists at their music exam performances and is well known for her empathy in easing their nerves. Margaret also initiated the Toddler Music Cafe and frequently plays for older members of the community in local care homes.

She has played in hundreds of concerts for the Music in Hospitals and Care charity, which improves the health and wellbeing of children and adults through music.

Robert Norris Easson

Robert Norris Easson, 77, from Edinburgh, received a BEM for services to Scottish rugby.

 A former rugby player for Jordanhill, Howe of Fife RFC and the Midlands, Robert went on to coach Howe of Fife before taking the reins as the coach of the combined North and Midlands district team.

He was head coach at the Edinburgh Accies club when professional rugby began in the mid-1990s. In 1999 he became the High Performance Rugby Coach at the Scottish Institute of Sport and was a pivotal figure in bringing through former Scotland captains from age-grade rugby to the national team. Robert became the High Performance Manager in 2008 and served as President of Edinburgh Accies until 2022.

He has also worked extensively with Basketball Scotland, including community projects in areas of deprivation across the country.

Isabella Thomson

Isabella Thomson, 77 from Tranent received a BEM for services to community theatre in East Lothian.

Isa has been the driving force behind a long-running community drama  group for over 45 years - producing, directing and fundraising for the Centre Stage Company -and giving her time selflessly and joyfully.

Supported by volunteers, the organisation is now an established and cherished part of community life for Tranent and the surrounding area - with their shows often being a complete sell out. Isa also organises visits to local homes where cast members provide entertainment. 

David William Stewart Todd

David William Stewart Todd, 67, from Edinburgh received a BEM for services to the Arts in Scotland

David is well known in the arts in Scotland, creating successful organisations and businesses that ensured all the arts are accessible throughout the country for both performers and audiences.

He is Trustee and Treasurer of The Tunnell Trust, set up to fund emerging chamber music groups to play to Scottish music clubs and was the Founding Manager for Edinburgh Festival Theatre and Opera House. In 2015 David was appointed as the first Theatre Chaplain at Edinburgh Playhouse, and soon took on the King’s Theatre, Festival Theatre and Royal Lyceum Theatre Chaplaincies, where he offers pastoral support to both visiting and resident company members. David also engages with the refugee communities in Edinburgh, providing free tickets to enjoy Edinburgh’s cultural life.

 

Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)

 

Hannah George Waller Beaton-Hawryluk

Hannah George Waller Beaton-Hawryluk, 62, from South Queensferry, received a MBE for services to the Ukrainian community in Scotland.

Hannah joined the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain in 2004 to celebrate her Ukrainian culture. She has been on the elected committee for 10 years in several positions and became the Holova (chairperson) in March 2022, nine days after Russia’s invasion.

Hannah established AUGB Edinburgh’s community centre as a humanitarian aid collection point. In the first three weeks of the appeal, the collection point collected an estimated 200 boxes of aid and engaged more than 200 volunteers. To date, the humanitarian aid appeal has sent over £5.5m and 36 lorries of aid to support communities across Ukraine.

Hannah has partnered with the City of Edinburgh Council who have provided funding for a warehouse where several organisations and projects are collaborating to send aid to Ukraine. She led the volunteer team to establish a weekly programme of social, cultural and welfare activities including information sessions, a weekly coffee morning and events of cultural importance.

Pauline Nicol Bowie

Pauline Nicol Bowie, 59, from Edinburgh, received a MBE for services to the community of Muirhouse and North Lanarkshire.

Having lived her whole life in Muirhouse, Pauline has seen the challenges faced by its residents first-hand. Determined to make a difference, in 2017 she set up LIFT (Low Income Families Together) to ensure families could access vital support.

Following redundancy, she used her payment to establish the centre where local people could access help in navigating complex public sector services, and receive support through advocacy, advice, skills and training.

Her local knowledge has allowed her to develop LIFT into a community asset where people receive support including applying for benefits or finding temporary accommodation. Pauline’s organisation provides baby hampers for new parents and stocks nappies and other baby supplies. She raises circa £300K per year to run LIFT, from a mix of grants, trusts and foundations. LIFT also generates income through its own fundraising initiatives such as the Jammie Appeal, raising money for food vouchers, hampers and toys. 

Elizabeth Fitzpatrick

Elizabeth Fitzpatrick, 68, from Edinburgh, received a MBE for services to children and young people with disabilities.

Elizabeth established the Playback Trust in 1998, a charity for young people with additional support needs which promotes social inclusion and diversity.

Elizabeth helped set up Fast Trax - a campaign to improve wheelchair provision for children with physical disabilities. She then created Playback Learning Academy, which focused on developing inclusive curricular material. Initially this resource was for children with additional support needs but was further developed for all pupils, from nursery to secondary, including leadership modules for staff.

The range of resources produced by Playback provides continued professional learning opportunities for teachers and staff, and self-evaluation material to promote good practice and improve learning outcomes. Playback was also involved in the early stages of the consultation and setting up of the Children's Parliament and the Commissioner for Children.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, she developed a wellbeing resource for schools to support pupils and teachers designed to ease their return to education. Containing activities and worksheets for pupils and teachers, the resource was downloaded by 1400 schools in Scotland and across the UK.

Stephen Gallacher

Stephen Gallacher, 49, from Bathgate, received a MBE for services to Golf.

As a golf professional Stephen has won four times on the European tour, along with winning the Ryder Cup in 2014 and recently captaining the junior Ryder Cup team to victory over the USA in Rome - the first time they have won in 14 years.

His innovative Gallacher Foundation is a non-profitable organisation which uses golf to teach life skills and open doors to so many young people. The Foundation launched in 2012 with the aim to give all children the opportunity to learn and enjoy the game of golf in a fun environment.

He continues to be personally involved, often spending whole days with groups of young people at golf clubs all over the UK. In 2019 the Foundation provided over 400 coaching sessions for 30 schools with PGA qualified professionals reaching out to approximately 1,200 children. The sessions are free of charge to the schools and include transport to and from school.

Jasmin Karina Paris

Jasmin Karina Paris, 40, from Gorebridge, received a MBE for services to Fell and long-distance running

Jasmin is a national fell running champion who previously held the record for the Bob Graham Round (a fell running challenge in the Lake District) and the Ramsay Round (a long distance hill running challenge near Fort William).

A well-known British runner, Jasmin was recognised on the international stage as a sky runner after her victory in the 2016 Skyrunner World Series (Sky Extreme) and bronze medal at the 2016 Skyrunning World Championships (SkyUltra). She received significant media attention for her overall win in the 2019 Spine Race, a 268-mile winter ultramarathon), one of the toughest endurance races in the world, beating the existing record by more than 12 hours.

Jasmin was one of five ultrarunners to complete the annual race held in Frozen Head State Park, Tennessee that has seen no finishers in more than half the races in its nearly four-decade history. She finished the race in 59:58:21, and had previously completed the race’s 60-mile ‘fun run’ version in 2022 and 2023. In March 2024 she became the first woman ever to finish the Barkley Marathons 100-mile race, completing one of the most challenging ultra marathons in the world with 99 seconds to spare in the 60-hour cut-off.

Elizabeth Porterfield

Elizabeth Porterfield, 76, from Edinburgh, received a MBE for services to people with rare diseases.

Driven by the experience of her late son who had Huntington’s disease, Elizabeth has championed at a Scottish and UK level tackling the inequity in provision of care. Elizabeth was instrumental in developing Scotland’s first implementation plan for meeting the needs of people (where there are around 400,000 people with a rare disease).

Her efforts have been pivotal in providing the impetus for greater use of genetics in supporting swifter diagnosis and better targeted treatment. Elizabeth facilitated the bringing together of fragmented provision into world class genetic services, with four Clinical Genetic Centres across the country supporting innovation, coordinated care, and the establishment of the Scottish Single Gene Complex Needs Service.

Elizabeth has also been influential in paving the way for the implementation of Congenital Anomalies and Rare Diseases Registration and Information Service for Scotland, which allows NHS Scotland to support the prevention of anomalies where possible and understand the impact of antenatal screening and support research into these conditions.

She has ensured there has been a substantial improvement in the identification of individuals at risk of cancer and more targeted monitoring and treatment. Elizabeth is an ambassador for people with rare conditions and has sustained her energy and commitment as Chair of the Genetic Alliance UK, and Vice Chair of Sight Scotland and Sight Scotland Veterans.

Nora Teresa Casares Rundell

Nora Teresa Casares Rundell, 72, from Edinburgh, received a MBE for services to Inclusive Skating and charities in Dunfermline.

Throughout her career Nora has held senior posts in the voluntary and tourism sectors as well as working in higher education. Inclusive Skating is a world-recognised charity that provides events, activities, education and training for skaters with additional needs, providing inclusion and accessibility to ice-skating competitions.

Her work within Inclusive Skating has contributed to the development of sound governance and accounting systems which is essential to the operation of the charity. She has previously sat on, and chaired, a number of boards such as the Association of Chief Officers of Scottish Voluntary Organisations and spent a large portion of her career working as the Chief Executive of the Carnegie Dunfermline and Hero Fund Trust.

Nora has also contributed to the trust focused on grants allocation for projects and activities with social, community, educational, cultural, sport and recreational purposes which benefit people in the local community of Dunfermline.