Honours & Awards

The State Honours System

The honours system recognises people who have made an outstanding contribution to public life and/or who have committed themselves to serving and helping Britain and/or the Bailiwick of Guernsey.  People who receive such awards will usually have made life better for others or be exceptional at what they do.  Awards can also be made for acts of conspicuous bravery by civilians.

Who can be nominated

Anyone can be nominated, but only those of exceptional achievement will receive awards.  Achievement comes in many forms.  We look for those who have made a real difference for the better in their area of work or community.  Examples might include:

• Making a difference to their community or field of work
• Enhancing the Bailiwick's reputation or the reputation of Britain as a whole
• Long-term voluntary service
• Innovation and entrepreneurship
• Changing things for the better
• Improving life for people less able to help themselves
• Displaying moral courage

Honours are considered for people involved in sectors including:

• Community, voluntary and local services
• Arts and media
• Health
• Sport
• Education
• Science and technology
• Business and the economy
• Civil or political service

The King's Award for Voluntary Service 

This award, previously known as the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service is the highest award given to local volunteer groups across the British Isles and recognises outstanding work done in their own communities.  It was created in 2002 and is considered as the 'MBE' for volunteer groups.  The Bailiwick has a strong tradition of volunteering and a number of local groups and charities have already been recognised through this prestigious award.  Further nominations are strongly encouraged.

How to nominate for an award

For details on how to nominate an individual or group for an award, and for an overview on how nominations are assessed, please follow this link.

Previous Recipients

A record of previous Bailiwick recipients of national honours is  HONOURS LIST 2022 [145kb]  and a list of previous QAVS award winners is  here [210kb].

Please note that whilst we have done our best with the information to hand, the list of national honours was orginally compiled in 2018 only from those who were nominated through this office. We acknowledge that it is likely there are still more gaps in the records and we would very much appreciate that you email this office to update us if you spot anyone living on the island who has been missed.