New Year Honours 2022: Wales' Covid heroes recognised

Doctors, campaigners and a supermarket worker have been recognised in the New Year Honours for their roles supporting Wales through the pandemic.

Wales' Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Frank Atherton said he was "thrilled" to be knighted.

Dr Bnar Talabani from Cardiff has been appointed MBE after combatting vaccine myths on TikTok.

Supermarket worker Joan Scott from Gwynedd said she was "so emotional" to be honoured for supporting customers.

The 55-year-old from Morfa Nefyn is a community champion at Asda in Pwllheli and has been awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to the community.

Known locally as Jo Asda, through the pandemic she has worked as a safety marshal for the supermarket where she greets customers, hands out personal protective equipment (PPE) and made sure everyone had access to what they needed.

Over the past 17 months she has also awarded more than £8,600 in Asda Foundation grants to groups and handed out more than £4,500 worth of donations of essential products to 145 groups.

She said after wrestling the letter from her dog, she spotted it was marked "On Her Majesty's Service" and thought it was a speeding ticket or jury summons.

"I opened it and it was it was an honours and I was over the moon, I burst into tears, it's just the most bizarre experience I've had, such lovely news," she said.

She said she could not wait to tell her grandchildren and wished her parents were alive to share the experience.

"It's so emotional, it's just overwhelming - the joy that I feel from this because somebody has taken the time to nominate me," she said.

"I'm so proud of my colleagues because we've all been through so, so much together so this honour is for them as well."

Dr Talabani is a kidney and transplant medical specialist at Cardiff's University Hospital of Wales.

She has become a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to the NHS and the accessibility of the Covid vaccination to ethnic minority communities in Wales.

The 32-year-old is an Iraqi-born Kurdish refugee who moved to the UK in 1998.

As well as her work with Team Halo to dispel the misinformation surrounding the vaccine, she has worked to help Public Health Wales understand the ethnic breakdown of vaccine uptake by conducting multiple surveys to generate good quality data from ethic communities.

She also helped support the vaccine programme in mosque vaccination pop up centres across south Wales.

"It was and it still is a complete shock. I'm so grateful for the recognition but I also know there's so many others that I've worked with who also deserve that recognition," she said.

"It is difficult to put into words because my family has sacrificed so much to be able to bring us to safety and we've been so incredibly fortunate, not just to be given a home in the UK but to be given opportunities through education.

She said there was a "lot of anti refugee and anti asylum seeker sentiment" spreading on social media, adding: "That's a real shame because when you give someone who has lost everything a home and opportunity they will spend the rest of their life repaying that kindness back.

"I'm also incredibly grateful that I've had the opportunity to do that."

Dr Atherton will become a Sir after being knighted for services to public health after he "significantly shaped the distinctive approaches taken in Wales to protect the Welsh population".

"He has, by necessity and with credibility, stepped well beyond the normal boundaries of the Chief Medical Officer role in responding to this global event," the honours committee said.

The former GP, who took up the role of CMO of Wales in 2016 following an extensive career in public health, said he was "absolutely thrilled and really delighted".

"I'm so proud of all my colleagues across Wales and the wider UK... we feel we're in the right place at the right time to try and make a difference."

He said his increased profile following his regular televised briefings during the pandemic had sometimes felt odd but it was "quite nice when people sometimes come up to you in the street to say thank you".

Two others being honoured for their work during the pandemic are campaigner Joshua Reeves and fundraiser Gerald Stanley Beaumont - both are being awarded BEMs for services to people with disabilities.

Mr Reeves, 24, from Cardiff, received the award after highlighting the impact of the pandemic on disabled people by sharing his daily video diaries on social media.

Mr Beaumont, 62, from Usk, Monmouthshire, is a prolific fundraiser and at the start of the pandemic transported PPE supplies, at times through the night, between residential homes across Wales and lifted the spirits of residents and care staff by baking cookies.

Damehoods are being handed to chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency Jenny Harries, from Monmouthshire, the UK ambassador to France Menna Rawlings, and Julie Lydon, the former vice-chancellor of the University of South Wales.

In the world of sport, sailor Hannah Mills, athlete Aled Sion Davies and boccia player David Smith have been appointed OBEs.

Boxer Lauren Price and fellow Tokyo 2020 gold medallists Matthew Richards, Calum Jarvis, Laura Sugar and Jim Roberts have all become MBEs.

Timothy Walkden-Williams has been appointed MBE for services to business and his community in Prestatyn, Denbighshire.

He opened his first shop, selling designer menswear, on Prestatyn High Street in 1973 then, 20 years ago, created the Prestatyn Classic Car Show, which attracts thousands of people every year.

"I can't believe it to be honest with you, it was quite a surprise when I opened the envelope, I had to read it a couple of times to believe what had happened," he said.

Mortgage broker Des Lally from Brecon, Powys, said he was "extremely humbled" to be appointed BEM after single-handedly raising £85,000 for cancer and armed forces charities.

He said: "Mum and dad have both had three different types of cancer between them and dad spent 26 years the armed forces, so I just wanted to give a bit back to those two organisations and ensure they can continue to help people."

Head teacher at Craigfelen Primary School in Swansea, Alison Williams, has been appointed MBE for her services to education and the community.

In 2018, the school received an excellent Estyn inspection report and she was asked to write two best practice guides.

She was also praised for helping to fund a community park, allotment, garden, skate ramp and holiday clubs and setting up a community cafe.

"My passion is to be inclusive, to make sure every child has a chance," she said.

"It's unbelievable really... it is quite humbling because I honestly do just feel I've been doing my job."