Cook, Thomas and Southgate honoured in UK New Year list
FILE PHOTO: England's captain Alastair Cook holds up the ball after the first cricket test match against India finished in a draw at Trent Bridge cricket ground in Nottingham, England July 13, 2014. REUTERS/Philip Brown/File Photo
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has recognised its sporting stars in the Queen's New Year's honours list with a knighthood for cricketer Alastair Cook, and awards for Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas, England soccer boss Gareth Southgate and his captain Harry Kane.
Former England captain Cook, 34, who retired from international cricket this year, was his country's most-capped test player and record test run scorer.
Welsh cyclist Thomas, 32, has won three world championships and two Olympic gold medals along with this year's Tour de France, while the honours for Southgate and Kane follow England's World Cup run in Russia this Summer in which the team finished fourth, their best result since victory in 1966.
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Champions League - Group Stage - Group B - FC Barcelona v Tottenham Hotspur - Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain - December 11, 2018 Tottenham's Harry Kane aplauds their fans after the match. REUTERS/Albert Gea/File Photo
The awards also include a damehood for model Lesley Lawson, better known as Twiggy, one of the defining faces of the swinging 1960s.
Two members of the team who rescued 12 junior footballers and their coach from a flooded cave in Thailand, Richard Stanton and John Volanthen, received the George Medal for gallantry.
A knighthood goes to writer Philip Pullman, whose books include the "His Dark Materials" trilogy, while "Gruffalo" children's author Julia Donaldson, 70, is awarded a CBE.
FILE PHOTO: Cycling - Geraint Thomas Homecoming Parade - Cardiff, Britain - August 9, 2018 Team Sky's Geraint Thomas during the homecoming parade after his victory in the Tour De France REUTERS/Rebecca Naden/File Photo
CBEs also go to Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti, 31, and actress Sophie Okonedo, 50.
The New Year's honours have been awarded since Queen Victoria's reign in the 19th century and aim to recognise not just well-known figures but those who have contributed to national life through often selfless and unsung contributions over many years.
In that spirit, an OBE for fighting gun and knife crime goes to Mark Prince, 49, whose son Kiyan was fatally stabbed outside his school aged 15 in May 2006, while 28-year-old Stephen Addison who set up boxing classes to channel young people’s energy away from crime is awarded the BEM.
FILE PHOTO: Model Twiggy attends a Service of Thanksgiving for Sir Peter Hall at Westminster Abbey in London, Britain, September 11, 2018. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo
The biannual honours list is released on the Queen's official birthday in June and at the end of each year. The list, along with a guide to the various awards, is published by the Cabinet Office and can be seen at www.gov.uk/honours/honours-lists.
(Reporting by Stephen Addison; editing by Michael Holden)
FILE PHOTO: Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti performs a free concert at the Festival Hall in London, October 17, 2010. REUTERS/Andrew Winning/File PhotoFILE PHOTO: Actress Sophie Okonedo arrives for the American Theatre Wing's 70th annual Tony Awards in New York, U.S., June 12, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File PhotoFILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - World Cup - Third Place Play Off - Belgium v England - Saint Petersburg Stadium, Saint Petersburg, Russia - July 14, 2018 England manager Gareth Southgate applauds fans after the match REUTERS/Dylan Martinez/File PhotoFILE PHOTO: British divers John Volanthen and Robert Charles Harper leave after they checked the Tham Luang caves during a search for the members of an under-16 soccer team and their coach, in the northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand, June 27, 2018. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun/File PhotoFILE PHOTO: British diver Richard William Stanton arrives to the Tham Luang caves during a search for the members of an under-16 soccer team and their coach, in the northern province of Chiang Rai, Thailand, June 27, 2018. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun/File PhotoFILE PHOTO: Author Julia Donaldson poses for a photograph as she promotes 'The Ugly Five' with illustrator Axel Scheffler in Edinburgh, Scotland, Britain August 25, 2017. Picture taken August 25, 2017. REUTERS/Mary Turner/File PhotoFILE PHOTO: British author Philip Pullman prepares to deliver a speech on English poet John Milton at the opening of The Citizen Milton Exhibition at the Bodleian Library in Oxford, southeast England December 7, 2007. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez/File PhotoFILE PHOTO: Jeremy Farrar, Director of the Wellcome Trust attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland January 19, 2017. REUTERS/Ruben Sprich/File Photo
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