New Year’s Honours awarded in Grantham area

Jason Wong , 48, who in 2020 will celebrate 25 years as an NHS dentist at The Maltings Dental Practice in Grantham, has been awarded an MBE, for services to dentistry and oral health.

He chairs a network of dentists in Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire with the aim of improving the oral health of children and vulnerable people.

Mr Wong has been instrumental in helping achieve a 27 per cent cut in tooth decay in under-5s in Leicester between 2012 and 2017 in an area where children’s oral health was the worst in the country.

He said: “I was quite surprised to be nominated. I really did not expect it. What I have achieved is mostly down to the team around me.

“I’m very pleased that people have thought it worthwhile to nominate me.

“I had the letter come through and I thought it was a prank. I still don’t know who did the citation.

“Keeping it a secret until the embargo has been hard. I had BBC Look North come in before Christmas but I couldn’t say what it was really about.”

John Lord, 83, from Hough-on-the-Hill, near Grantham, receives his BEM for services to the community in the village.

Mr Lord has lived his entire life in the village where he was been a voluntary church warden for more than 50 years and organises the village fete.

He installed several barn boxes on his family farm where he is visited every year by a licensed inspector from Natural England and the British Trust for Ornithology.

Eighty young barn owls have fledged from the boxes over 10 years which has led to a substantial increase in the Barn Owl population locally and regionally.

The citation states: “He is a stalwart of his village, he is active, visible, and always available to all residents, as well as using his considerable practical skills around the village.”

Mr Lord is also a self-taught wood carver who made the lectern, the pulpit, the bishop’s chair, a nativity scene and the lychgate for the village church, and a plaque for Lincoln Cathedral.

The retired farmer said: “I fell quite honoured. The things I do are just my self-imposed hobbies.”

A BEM also goes to Ray Ogg, 64, for services to the Combined Cadet Forces and to the Department for Work and Pensions.

Mr Ogg, who lives in Market Rasen, has spent more than 40 years teaching 12-18 year olds life skills to prepare them for leaving school, while also working hard to help people back into the workplace.

“It was absolutely fantastic to think the Queen was going to honour me,” he said. “I thought it could be a scam at first.

“My partner Caroline was absolutely elated I’ve been recognised for the things I’ve done.

“I have to go to Grantham every week and we go on camps with the cadets, so she’s been very good to put up with it.

“I’ve been keeping it a secret with difficulty, but I am managing it for sure.”

And 21-year-old Jack Marshall’s BEM is for services to charity.

He has lived all his life with Moebius syndrome, a condition which means he has no facial nerves, and has no cerebellum, which affects his balance.

Mr Marshall, from Belton, has raised thousands of pounds for charity by taking part in numerous challenges such as climbing Ben Nevis, completing the Great Manchester Run and walking over the Humber Bridge.

He is a passionate campaigner for the rights of disabled children and has spoken in the House of Commons and House of Lords about the issue.

He says it is “surreal” to think he has been honoured by the Queen and has had great difficulty stopping himself from telling everyone.

“I cannot keep a secret – I wouldn’t trust me to keep a secret!” he said. “I wanted them to tell me on the day of the awards. I was shocked, I was extremely humbled.

“I don’t do what fundraising to get awards for my achievements. It’s surreal. I don’t think it will sink in until I get the medal. It’s a very prestigious award.

“This award isn’t just dedicated to me, but also everybody who has helped me with my fundraising challenges. It’s to them.”