A charity director from Knaresborough has been made an MBE in the first King’s New Year Honours.

Julia Skelton leads Mind the Gap, a Bradford-based arts company that specialises in offering training to and performances by people with learning disabilities and autism.

Having been in post for more than 20 years, including leading the organisation through the covid pandemic, she was still surprised to receive the email informing her she was being offered the honour. She said:

“My first reaction was to assume it was a hoax! Having established via a trusted colleague that it wasn’t, my second reaction was to be very embarrassed, having spent many years working hard to put others in the limelight.”

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Despite the honour being in her name, Julia said she recognised it as something for the entire theatre company.

She said:

“Some people get nominated for an MBE for their individual endeavours. Not me though – without question this recognition is for Mind the Gap and everyone, past, present and future, who’s contributed to the company’s success.

“In particular, the fantastic learning disabled and autistic artists who underpin everything we do and what we are about. And for those who collaborate artistically and more broadly so the company can create and tour work, and support skills development.”

Julia said she hoped the honour would help to promote the arts, especially as they face cuts to public funding and other challenges.

She also paid tribute to all women receiving honours, adding:

“I’m just one of thousands of women who plug away day in, day out, to further the success of things they believe in.

“I’m pleased to accept this award in celebration of all women’s achievements, especially those living and working in the north.”

A petition has been launched to award honours to all members of the England Lionesses team that won Euro 2022 — including Harrogate’s Rachel Daly.

Captain Leah Williamson was appointed OBE while Beth Mead, Lucy Bronze and Ellen White became MBEs in today’s King’s New Year Honours.

But the decision to recognise four players and not others in a team game has caused controversy.

A petition calling for all of the Lionesses’ playing squad to receive honours has already attracted 2,000 signatures.

Michael McCann, who started the petition, said:

“It simply does not feel fair at all, that after such a monumental collective effort, and given the historical precedents set with previous sporting successes in England, to chose to honour just four of the Lionesses players.”

Mr McCann calls on the Cabinet Office to “honour the entire 23-player squad with at least an MBE”.

Politicians, including Andy Burnham, the Labour mayor of Greater Manchester, have questioned why only four of the team were recognised.

Why only four? They were a TEAM. It should be all or none and I say ALL. https://t.co/lc6ysVKZWL

— Andy Burnham (@AndyBurnhamGM) December 31, 2022

The Daily Mail’s northern football correspondent, Dominic King, also expressed forthright views on Twitter.

If Gareth Southgate’s squad had won the World Cup, every member would have got recognition in the honours list. It’s puzzling, them, why every member of Sarina Weigman’s squad hasn’t been honoured. Sir Hugh Robertson’s explanation for the exclusivity is nonsense, too.

— Dominic King (@DominicKing_DM) December 31, 2022

Daly, whose career started at Killinghall Nomads, has had an amazing year. Besides winning Euro 2022 she has twice been named Women’s Super League Player of the Month for her scoring exploits at Aston Villa.

Rachel Daly receiving her player of the month award November.

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Founding and leading a specialist dementia charity has led a Harrogate woman to be made an MBE in the King’s New Year Honours.

Jill Quinn set up Burton Leonard-based Dementia Forward in spring 2012 and it has expanded rapidly in the intervening years.

She was notified of her award, made in recognition of services to people with dementia, three weeks ago. She said:

“I only told my children and my husband. It was tricky to keep it a secret at work.

“To be really honest, I thought it was a hoax. It came by email and there was a spelling mistake in it. My husband didn’t want me to get too excited.”

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Ms Quinn said the last year has brought some significant achievements for Dementia Forward, which was given the Queen’s Award for Volunteering as well as The King’s Fund Impact Award.

She and the rest of the team have more plans for the coming year, too. She said:

“I’m trying to be a local charity but we’re punching above our weight. we want to share our success wider than where we deliver our services.

“I think we are on to something. We’re managing to make a difference.

“Dementia is complicated and far-reaching for families. We’ve got a lot to do still, but I hope we’ve made a difference in North Yorkshire.

“Our biggest push now is for young onset dementia – that’s people diagnosed under the age of 65. People are treated the same whether they are 40 or 90 and that isn’t right.

“For the first time, we’re sticking our heads outside North Yorkshire. We’re saying we think our model is working really well and joining up with other people to try and get these things noticed.”

While there are plans in place for the charity from the new year, the next few days will be for family celebrations.

Ms Quinn only told her father about her award two days ago, knowing how pleased and proud he would be. She added:

“It’s hard to explain how it feels. It’s lovely.”

Years of dedication in their fields have brought recognition for people from the Harrogate district.

The first New Year Honours List published in the reign of King Charles III features five residents from the area, each for different reasons.

Richard Sheriff, CEO of the Red Kite Learning Trust (RKLT), has been made an OBE for services to education.

The former headteacher was made head of the trust in 2018 after 11 years at Harrogate Grammar School.

RKLT now comprises 13 primary and secondary schools, including the grammar school. It became one of the first teaching school hubs in the country, while Mr Sheriff was the first person to serve two terms as president of the Association of School and College Leaders.

He remains chairman of the ASCL’s trust leaders advisory board as well as a member of the national STEM advisory board and a trustee of the professional teaching institute.

There are three recipients of MBEs in the Harrogate district.

Cyclist Lizzie Deignan, who grew up in Otley and now calls Harrogate home, appears on the list after many years of achievements.

Photograph: Trek Segafredo

She represented Team GB at two Olympic Games, winning silver in the women’s road race in London in 2012. She has triumphed in the women’s Tour de France and the UCI Women’s Road World Cup on two occasions each, and in other races including Paris-Roubaix, the Tour of Flanders and the Tour de Yorkshire.

The 34-year-old is now back in training after having her second child in September, and is expected to be racing for Trek-Segafredo again in 2023.

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Knaresborough resident Julia Skelton has been recognised for her services to charity and to the community in Bradford, through her role as executive director of Mind the Gap.

The theatre company offers training courses and live performance for people with learning disabilities and autism.

Dementia Forward CEO Jill Quinn has also been made an MBE, in recognition of her services to people with dementia across the Harrogate district.

She founded the charity in April 2012, supporting people with dementia and those caring for them. It has gone on to expand across North Yorkshire, offering an advice line, specialist dementia nursing services, and community events and groups for people with dementia and their families and carers.

The BEM has been awarded to Killinghall resident Anne Holdsworth, chair of the parish council and long-standing active volunteer in the community.

As well as almost 50 years on Killinghall Parish Council, Mrs Holdsworth has served on the village hall committee, as a governor at Killinghall Primary School, and as a member of the health authority. She has also represented the parish council at borough and county councils.

Want to know more about our local recipients of the King’s New Year Honours? Keep an eye on the Stray Ferret’s website and social media for in-depth stories and interviews tomorrow.

Twenty-five years ago Christine Hamilton-Stewart MBE got a call from Marie Curie asking her if she would lead a fundraising drive to build a hospice in Bradford.

At the time, the former nurse was helping to care for her sister-in-law who was dying from liver cancer.

As a result, she gained knowledge of what was available in the palliative care sector, particularly to patients who wanted to die at home. Marie Curie was the main supplier of this service.

Mrs Hamilton-Stewart, who lives in South Stainley, between Harrogate and Ripon, told the Stray Ferret:

“The fact I had trained as a nurse and had experience of caring for end-of-life patients really meant that I could help, not only my sister-in-law, but various other family members.

“So Marie Curie was looking for someone to lead a capital appeal to build this hospice in Bradford, and I chaired that appeal.”

Raising £3.5 million

And Mrs Hamilton-Stewart was clearly the right person for the job, as she helped to raise an incredible £3.5 million in just 18 months.

She recalled:

“At the time it was a surprise to everybody, including me.”

Mrs Hamilton-Stewart is now a patron and vice-president of Marie Curie and continues to dedicate her time to raising vital funds for the charity.

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In 2011 she was awarded an MBE for her services to Marie Curie. The organisation is the largest charitable funder of research into better ways to care for and support people with terminal illness and their families.

‘We don’t prepare for death’

She said:

“I’m still here. I passionately believe that all patients and their families should have the best possible care and support at the end of their life.

“In this country, we all prepare beautifully for birth, but we don’t prepare for death.

“Patients and families who get the right support, I believe, are able to cope much better with very challenging situations. Having the capacity to volunteer for all these years has made me feel useful and I do what I can to help this fantastic organisation.”

Mrs Hamilton-Stewart praised the support of the community in Harrogate and North Yorkshire.

She said:

“We were the charity partner of the Grand Depart of the Tour de France and the recipient of Chris Blundell’s [chairman and co-founder of North Yorkshire-based Provenance Inns] charity clay day some years ago.

“The money from that enabled us to upgrade day care services, which are far-reaching.”

Marie Curie nurses in North Yorkshire are based at home, with the service for the whole region managed from the base of the Bradford Hospice.

There are currently eight registered nurses and 15 healthcare assistants in the county.

During the 2020/2021 period, there were 60 patients and 334 visits, equating to approximately 3,005 hours.

It costs £20,000 to hire a Marie Curie nurse for a year.

Fundraising is therefore vital in supporting these services.

‘It’s a fantastic organisation to support’

Mrs Hamilton-Stewart said:

“People are very supportive in Harrogate. We have two exciting events coming up in the town.

“The Yorkshire Brain Game will take place at the Harrogate Majestic Hotel on September 15 and there will also be a Last Night of the Proms concert at the Royal Hall on October 7, organised by the Harrogate support group.

“The pandemic devastated community fundraising, but we are so pleased to see our volunteers leap back into action. More are always welcome – to get involved, you can visit the Marie Curie website. It’s a fantastic organisation to support.”

After 25 years, Mrs Hamilton-Stewart said she has no intention of hanging up her fundraising hat just yet.

She added:

“Having the capacity to work closely with fundraising teams and medical director Sarah Holmes, we have so many exciting plans to improve our services. I’m excited to push on with our efforts to keep the funding going.”

Fundraiser

The Marie Curie Brain Game is returning to Yorkshire for a fourth time on Thursday, January 26 and for the first time in Harrogate in the newly refurbished Majestic Hotel & Spa.

Guests will be treated to a drinks reception before enjoying a gourmet three-course dinner.

Mrs Hamilton-Stewart revealed that Downton Abbey actor Jim Carter will be the main host of the evening, with the food and drink category hosted by Leeds Michelin star Leeds chef, Michael O’Hare.

The celebrity-hosted quiz will run throughout the evening and guests will also have the opportunity to bid for exclusive lots in the live and silent auctions, and win prizes in the grand raffle.

This black-tie event invites companies from across Yorkshire to come and enjoy an evening of brain-teasing entertainment and battle it out in the ultimate corporate quiz to be crowned Yorkshire Brain Game champions.

To book one of the remaining tables, click here.

A man has been jailed for over three years after he admitted stealing an MBE medal, jewellery and cash during a burglary at a woman’s home in Harrogate.

Shane Bainbridge, 31, broke into Patrycia Scott’s home in Wayside Avenue, Harrogate, and stole a “considerable quantity of personal items” including her MBE medal, prosecutor Brooke Morrison told York Crown Court.

Bainbridge, of King Edward Road, Ripon, was arrested nearby with a “couple of sacks containing (the victim’s) property”, she added.

He was charged with stealing jewellery, cash and the MBE medal during the burglary, which occurred on March 8.

Bainbridge denied the offence right up until the day of trial today (Monday, August 22) when he entered a last-minute guilty plea.

Judge Sean Morris, the Recorder of York, jailed Bainbridge for three years and three months.

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