King's Birthday Honours in Yorkshire: 'I thought it was a letter from the taxman'

There are teachers and carers, and a whole host of heritage leaders, with role models in sports and the arts and across the voluntary sector.

Today nearly 90 people from Yorkshire are honoured in the King's Birthday Honours, a number that makes up seven per cent nationwide.

This year there is a particular focus on those who have given their time to public service, with athlete Alistair Brownlee and Wakefield-born disabled artist Jason Wilsher Mills among those to feature.

It's a "powerful reminder", said Prime Minister Keir Starmer, of the "extraordinary dedication, compassion, and service" that exists in every corner of the country.

"From community champions to cultural icons, each recipient reflects the very best of Britain," he said. "I extend my heartfelt congratulations and gratitude to them all.”

Fiona Movley, chair of Harrogate International Festivals (HIF), is made an MBE for services to charity.

Known for her decades of work with so many groups, from RHS Harlow Carr to St Michael’s Hospice and the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, she is dubbed an “inspiration” by her teams. It has been to her fortune, she said, to be able to volunteer and helping has been "hugely rewarding".

She said: “I passionately believe that volunteers can make a positive difference, not only to organisations in their local community but also to people’s lives. To then receive such an honour from the King is the icing on the cake.”

There are notable recipients across the region. Valerie Hoyle, in South Yorkshire receives a British Empire Medal (BEM) after dedicating 55 years of her life to developing women's football.

Now aged 67, she came to the sport first as a player, then as coach, manager, club secretary and today as a welfare officer with Rotherham United Womens Football Club.

"I can't believe it," she said of the honour. "It's come as the shock of my life. When the letter landed I thought it was from the tax man.”

She feels “extraordinarily humbled” to even be nominated, said Ms Hoyle, knowing the hours and even years the process can take. Of women and girls' football, she said, it has grown beyond all recognition in the near six decades since she began.

"I was just a 12-year-old girl, wanting to play sport," she said. "It's just grown in momentum."

One of the strictest rules around the King's Honours is that it must remain a secret and Ms Hoyle has a long list of people to call today, starting with her sister.

"Actually getting the medal will be a day of joy all over again,” she said.

And in Ilkley, there is recognition for Prof Rebecca Malby for services to clean river campaigns. She is founder of the Ilkley Clean River Group as well as the Ilkley Pool and Lido Community Group.

It's been "absolutely wonderful" to know that people have nominated her, she said: "I'm completely taken aback - I’m so grateful.

"The fight, the battle, the effort to try and clean the rivers - it's not just me," she insisted. "It's hundreds of people.

"This award is recognition of that effort, but also of how important it is to the public. We must not forget that this is persistently fundamental to this country - this award is testament to how important that is."