Honours for sporting success and a lifetime of craftsmanship

“I didn’t dream for one minute I should get one,” said 90-year-old pocket knife maker Stan Shaw after being recognised in the Queen’s New Year Honours.

“I’ve been doing the job for 76 years – hopefully I have helped keep Sheffield craft alive.”

Stan, of Deepcar, is probably the last of Sheffield’s little mesters, and his handmade knives are sought after by collectors across the world.

He received the British Empire Medal in honour of his lifetime spent in Sheffield’s cutlery trade, joining several other city luminaries on the honours list.

Jessica Ennis-Hill, who announced her retirement in October, was recognised for her years of success in the heptathlon by being made a dame.

The 2012 Olympic heptathlon gold medallist, who was already a CBE, won silver at the 2016 games in Rio.

And gold medal-winning Paralympic rower Grace Clough, who had just been given a Sheffield Legends star on the walk of fame outside the Town Hall, was awarded an MBE.

The 25-year-old former High Storrs School pupil suffers from Erb’s palsy, which affects the nerves in her right shoulder.

But in the main, honours were handed out to those who had served their communities in Sheffield.

Former Sheffield United academy director John Warnock was awarded an MBE for services to higher education sports.

John, aged 74, who lives in Chapeltown, said: “It is nice to know someone has appreciated what you have been doing and what you have enjoyed doing.”

Once a keen player himself, he was the head coach of Sheffield Polytechnic – now Sheffield Hallam University – football team between 1970 and 1999 and from the 1980s worked part-time for Sheffield United after being approached by manager Dave Bassett.

In 1999, he became director of the Sheffield United academy and head of youth development.

He was the GB team manager for the British Polytechnics Sports Association and the British Student Association football teams and from 1987 to 2011 was the director of football and futsal for the International Federation for University Sport (FISU).

In 2011, Mr Warnock was appointed on the FISU technical committee for the World University Games, held every two years.

His career has taken him to tournaments in countries across the world.

Meanwhile Jean Holland, who was awarded the British Empire Medal, has been a familiar face in Mosborough for most of her 81 years.

Whether through her work at St Mark’s Church, her roles on a variety of committees or her work at the Joseph Stone Centre, she is at the heart of the village community.

“I read the letter three times when it arrived,” said Jean. “I just thought: ‘That can’t be right’. It was a very pleasant surprise, although it’s quite difficult to bite your tongue about it.”

Jean was born in Mosborough and has lived there her whole life.

In 1990 she became secretary of Mosborough Village Action Group, later the Mosborough Millennium Committee, and has worked hard to improve village life.

Jean and her late husband Harry, who died four years ago, were instrumental in setting up the Joseph Stone Centre, which has been a key part of village life since it opened in 2008.

“You just do what you can for your local area,” said the 81-year-old.

Manager and reverend on list

Carol Wilding, a Home Office operations manager from Sheffield, received a British Empire Medal for public and voluntary services to people with disabilities across South Yorkshire.

And the Reverend Jennifer Mullis, also of Sheffield, received an OBE for services to education and to the community in York. She is assistant director of the further education commercial and legal unit at the Department for Education.