Trio of Johnians receive New Year Honours

Professor Timothy Minton, Susannah Storey and Arthur Tait have been recognised for their contributions to society

Three Johnians have been recognised for their contributions to society in the New Year Honours 2020.

Professor Timothy Minton was awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to relations between the UK and Japan. He has been Professor in the English department of the Keio University School of Medicine in Tokyo since 2012.

Professor Minton is a bestselling author of books on English grammar, and is the Executive Director of the Japan-British Society which was founded in 1908 to promote closer links between the UK and Japan.  He arrived at St John's in 1977 to read Modern and Medieval Languages.

Professor Timothy Minton
Professor Timothy Minton

Susannah Storey was awarded a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) for public service. She studied History at St John's, graduating with a BA in 1995. She is Director General for Digital and Media Policy in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and she was previously the Director General at the Department for Exiting the European Union. She also previously held a number of director roles at Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, the Department of Energy & Climate Change, and UK Government Investments. She was also a non executive director of the Post Office.

Arthur Tait was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for his 'hands-on' service to the local community in the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

Arthur Tait. Credit: The Royal Parks
Arthur Tait. Credit: The Royal Parks

Arthur has been Chairman of the Friends of Brompton Cemetery since 1998 and has devoting more than 25 years to improving the grade I listed site for visitors. Brompton Cemetery is one of Britain's oldest and most distinguished garden cemeteries and it is the final resting place of the suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst, artists, actors and the founders of Chelsea Football Club. There are 35,000 monuments in the cemetery and 28 of them are Listed.

Arthur, who read History at St John's and graduated in 1957, has made a significant contribution to The Royal Parks’ ambitious £6.2 million project to restore the cemetery. He is also the Chairman of the National Federation of Cemetery Friends. 

Loyd Grossman, Chairman of The Royal Parks, said: “It’s wonderful that Arthur Tait’s sterling contribution to Brompton Cemetery over many years has been recognised in this way.  This is a well-deserved honour.”

Published: 07/01/2020

Back to College News