Mertonians recognised in the King’s New Year Honours

Michael Jary (1982) was awarded Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for Public Service. Currently the Government Lead Non-Executive and a member of the Cabinet Office board, Michael was previously lead non-executive director at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. Michael was one of the founding team of OC&C Strategy Consultants and was previously the firm’s Worldwide Managing Partner. He has been a strategy advisor for over 35 years. His other current roles include non-executive director of Barclays Bank UK plc, chair of Kensington Mortgages, chair of Itad Ltd, chair of Duchy Originals and chair of AG Carrick (Highgrove Enterprises). He is a trustee of The King’s Foundation and Opera Holland Park.

Historian and author Professor Andrew Pettegree FBA (1976) was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to Literature. Professor Pettegree is Professor of Modern History at the University of St Andrews and is the author of numerous books on the history of the Reformation and on Book History. He runs a research group that in 2011 completed a survey of all books published before 1601: the Universal Short Title Catalogue. This survey has now been extended to 1700, offering data on 1.5 million works with the location of six million surviving copies. He is the founding editor of two monograph series: the St Andrews Studies in Reformation History, and The Library of the Written Word. In 2012-2015 he served a three-year term as Vice-President of the Royal Historical Society. In 2021 he was elected Fellow of the British Academy. 

Actor Oliver Ford Davies (1958) was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to drama. He read History at Merton and was President of the Oxford University Dramatic Society. He gained a history DPhil and was for two years a history lecturer at Edinburgh University. His long and prolific acting career on stage and on screen has seen him made an Honorary Associate of the Royal Shakespeare Company, which he was first associated with in 1975, and with whom his roles have included Polonius in Hamlet, Pandarus in Troilus and Cressida, and Justice Shallow in Henry IV, Part 2. Oliver Ford Davies was awarded the Laurence Olivier Award in 1990 for Best Actor for Racing Demon and was twice nominated for a Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for his performance in Absolutely! (perhaps) at the Wyndham's Theatre in 2003, and for his performance as Polonius in the RSC production of Hamlet at the Novello Theatre in 2009. His television roles include Peter Foxcott QC in Kavanagh QC, and his film roles include Sio Bibble in the Star Wars prequel trilogy films. He has written three books on Shakespeare and in 2023 his memoir An Actor's Life in 12 Productions, published by The Book Guild, won the Society for Theatre Research 2023 STR Theatre Book Prize.

Carl Anglim (2004), lately Chair of Oxfordshire Youth, was awarded the Medal of the Order of the British Empire for services to Young People. At Oxfordshire Youth, Carl was Member of the board for 11 years since 2011, six as a trustee followed by five as Chair from 2017 until the end of 2022. He was appointed a Vice President of the charity in 2023. From 2017 to 2022 the charity experience significant growth even against the challenging backdrop of COVID. Oxfordshire Youth supports Oxfordshire’s network of youth organisations and provides accommodation services for some of the most vulnerable young people in the county. The charity is now helping to improve the lives of more young people than at any point in its 70+ year history. Carl is also known for his role as Director of Oxford Fashion Studio since 2009, which represents emerging designers from around the world and in 2021 launched the first collection of adaptivewear to be featured on the runway during London Fashion Week. 

The College is extremely proud of its alumni for the successes they have achieved in their areas of expertise, and the benefit this has brought to their communities and to the wider world.