Queen's Birthday Honours 2020

[MJMcCready]

Dennis Mardle was awarded a C.B.E for his work on Polio (which he suffered with) in 1988. He does appear in the first British rating lists but was not the most noted player of the 50's and 60's where by today's standards he was around the 220 mark and just about in the top 15 (think he came 14th or =14th in the British Championships of 59).

[Tim Harding]

Are there no women?

Other than (the late) Mrs Nancy C Elder of Dundee: MBE 1974 for services to chess, whose name should be added to the list, that is.

A Dundee school teacher, she was 15 times Scottish women's champion and very active in coaching, organising and captaining all levels of women's and girls' events/teams (and she also notably coached not a few younger and rather strong boys). A highly deserved award.

Hi Craig. I suppose you know of Dame Sarah Elizabeth Siddons Mair (1846-1941), one of the first recipients of the Dame award. She was the driving force behind female cultural life in Edinburgh for six decades, presiding over a literary review, a famous debating society, and eventually she became president of the Edinburgh Ladies Chess Club of which she was a founder member (going back when it was a branch of a ladies' club called the Victorian Club).

Perhaps this should be in the History section of this Forum.
Sources I saw include her ODNB article and the Edinburgh Ladies Chess Club Misc Papers, 1925-54, at Edinburgh Central Library [C67231].

[Kevin Thurlow]

Mention of Denis Mardle has caused me to look at a list of obituaries of Civil Service chess players, which I'll post when I've finished...

Having reached B for Jacob Bronowski, he didn't have any award, so I would have thought he must have declined one?

[Kevin Thurlow]

Probably all work-related. I was also surprised that Andrew Bonar Law didn't get anything.

CONEL HUGH O’DONEL ALEXANDER CMG CBE
JOHN MAURICE ALLAIN QPM (Queen’s Police Medal) Birthday Honours June 1987
EDWARD CECIL BAKER MBE
SIR LEONARD BARFORD (Chief Inspector of Taxes)
SIR RICHARD BARNETT
SIR GEORGE BARSTOW
JY BELL CB
SIR RICHARD WILLIAM BARNES CLARKE, KCB, OBE
SIR JOHN WARCUP CORNFORTH
JOHN MORLEY HOLFORD CB OBE
ET JESTY MBE
D LE B JONES CB
JAMES MAHOOD CBE, ISO
SIR P S MILNER-BARRY, KCVO, CB, OBE
ARTHUR GERALD POCKETT OBE
EDWARD GUTHLAC SERGEANT OBE
SIR JOHN SIMON
R C S TAYLOR, CBE
SIR JOHN WALLEY

[Ian Thompson]

JOHN MAURICE ALLAIN QPM (Queen’s Police Medal) Birthday Honours June 1987

Anyone know where he used to live or play? Strood, Kent in the late 1970s?

[Kevin Thurlow]

John Allain - Anyone know where he used to live or play? Strood, Kent in the late 1970s?

Could be, he was based in Brixton, when they had the problems about then (I'm not saying he caused them), and he was in Brent in the late 80s. Police normally live outside their work area. He was graded 160-170 ish in the 1970s, a rather dour individual at times, stocky.

[Ian Thompson]

John Allain - Anyone know where he used to live or play? Strood, Kent in the late 1970s?

Could be, he was based in Brixton, when they had the problems about then (I'm not saying he caused them), and he was in Brent in the late 80s. Police normally live outside their work area. He was graded 160-170 ish in the 1970s, a rather dour individual at times, stocky.

When I saw the name, I thought I'd played him. On checking my database, I have 3 games against a John M Allan from Strood. I suspected that was a typing error on my part. It's not. An old grading list has:

JM Allain, Met Police
JM Allan, Kent/Canterbury/Medway

[Tim Harding]

John Allain - Anyone know where he used to live or play? Strood, Kent in the late 1970s?

Could be, he was based in Brixton, when they had the problems about then (I'm not saying he caused them), and he was in Brent in the late 80s. Police normally live outside their work area. He was graded 160-170 ish in the 1970s, a rather dour individual at times, stocky.

John Allain died a while back; I would have to check old issues of "Correspondence Chess" magazine to see when. 2007 as that was the last year he was President of the British Correspondence Chess Association (since 1997) and previously he was its General Secretary.

I met him a few times when I was doing my research into CC history and I always found him friendly and very helpful. Without the extended loan of some BCCA minute books there would have been some gaps in my book. I don't know where he lived; we used to meet at the British Library.

[Andrew Zigmond]

John Lawson of Hull and a recipient of the Hardcastle Shield for services to Yorkshire chess was listed in the old YCA grading list as Sir John Lawson, although I don't know what his knighthood was for. He would be in his nineties now although I've not heard anything to say that he has died.

[Kevin Thurlow]

"John Allain died a while back"

The obituary I have was dated January 2008, so he died either late 2007 or early 2008.

"Sir John Lawson"

I know who to ask!

[John Upham]

John Lawson of Hull and a recipient of the Hardcastle Shield for services to Yorkshire chess was listed in the old YCA grading list as Sir John Lawson, although I don't know what his knighthood was for. He would be in his nineties now although I've not heard anything to say that he has died.

Apparently "SIR JOHN PHILIP LAWSON, 12th BART, of Hull Co. Yorks. born 29 August 1926, married 1 December 1951, Joan Alice, daughter of Thomas Robinson, Esquire of Hull and has issue, 2 daughters and a son,"

Same person ?

[Kevin Thurlow]

"Same person ?"

I think so, birth date is plausible. I've asked a Hull colleague of his for more info.

[Andrew Zigmond]

John Lawson of Hull and a recipient of the Hardcastle Shield for services to Yorkshire chess was listed in the old YCA grading list as Sir John Lawson, although I don't know what his knighthood was for. He would be in his nineties now although I've not heard anything to say that he has died.

Apparently "SIR JOHN PHILIP LAWSON, 12th BART, of Hull Co. Yorks. born 29 August 1926, married 1 December 1951, Joan Alice, daughter of Thomas Robinson, Esquire of Hull and has issue, 2 daughters and a son,"

Same person ?

That would appear to be right (the chess John Lawson has the initial P). I don't know him personally although I used to see him at matches. According to the grading list he was last active in 2011.

Hull sources will definitely be able to tell us more.

[Kevin Thurlow]

Sir John Lawson's title is hereditary. He is still with us, but not active in the chess world.

[John McKenna]

"An hereditary Knighthood is called a baronet and the baronetcy passes to the eldest son, who is allowed to style himself as 'Sir'."