| KNIGHTS AND DAMES | ||||||||
| INTRODUCTION | ||||||||
| This page is dedicated to my all-time favourite knight, Sir Thomas Tom of Appledore. | ||||||||
| Eligibility for inclusion | ||||||||
| The aim of these pages is to list all men and women who have been made a Knight or a Dame in any country which is a member of | ||||||||
| the British Commonwealth of Nations since the accession of Queen Victoria to the throne of the United Kingdom in 1837. These nations | ||||||||
| include the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, and St. Lucia, each of which retains orders of | ||||||||
| knighthood under various names. Therefore, any person who is entitled to the appellation "Sir" or "Dame" under any of these orders is | ||||||||
| eligible for inclusion in these pages. | ||||||||
| Sources and acknowledgments | ||||||||
| The primary source for knights prior to the end of 1904 is "The Knights of England" compiled by William Arthur Shaw, published in 1906. | ||||||||
| Since that time, I have relied on a number of sources, the most important of which are the various Gazettes (i.e. the London, | ||||||||
| Edinburgh, Dublin (until 1921) and the Belfast (after 1921) Gazettes, which are the official journals of record of the British Government. | ||||||||
| Other primary sources include the various editions of "Who's Who" and "Who Was Who", together with correspondence with various | ||||||||
| official government departments in other Commonwealth countries. For Knights Bachelor, I have relied heavily upon my collection of | ||||||||
| the various editions of the listings published by the Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor. | ||||||||
| Neither the Gazettes or Who's Who/Who Was Who, when taken in isolation, will provide complete listings. For example, I have come | ||||||||
| across many names of knights or dames in Who's Who/Who Was Who whose appointment as knights or dames I have been unable to | ||||||||
| find in the Gazettes. Conversely, some knights or dames have never appeared in Who's Who, generally because they are members of | ||||||||
| orders of knighthood of Commonwealth countries other than the United Kingdom and are not therefore noticed by "Who's Who", or are | ||||||||
| due simply to a desire for anonymity. | ||||||||
| I also gratefully acknowledge the assistance of my friend James Lockwood in filling in many gaps in dates of birth and death. | ||||||||
| The various Orders of Knighthood | ||||||||
| The United Kingdom | ||||||||
| The following orders of knighthood are shown in order of descending precedence:- | ||||||||
| The Most Noble Order of the Garter | ||||||||
| The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle | ||||||||
| The Most Illustrious Order of St Patrick | ||||||||
| Members of these orders are already listed on my pages under "Orders of Chivalry" and are therefore generally not included in the | ||||||||
| pages devoted to knights and dames. However, if a person received various knighthoods prior to being appointed to the Garter or to | ||||||||
| the Thistle, his or her appointment to these orders is included for the sake of completeness. See, for example, Sir Anthony Acland. | ||||||||
| Conversely, if a person's only appointment as a knight or dame is to one of these orders (for example Sir John Major), they will not | ||||||||
| be included in these listings. | ||||||||
| The Most Honourable Order of the Bath | ||||||||
| The Most Honourable Order of the Bath was founded by George I on 18 May 1725. From that date until 2 January 1815, the Order | ||||||||
| consisted of a single class - Knight Companion of the Bath (KB) - which no longer exists. Since 1815 the Order has consisted of | ||||||||
| three classes of members, being Knights or Dames Grand Cross (GCB), Knights or Dames Commander (KCB/DCB) and Companions (CB). | ||||||||
| The Order is divided into two divisions, Military and Civil. Recipients of the Military division are now usually senior military officers, | ||||||||
| while recipients of the Civil division are usually senior civil servants. The Order was opened to women in 1971 with the first female | ||||||||
| member - Dame Mildred Riddelsdell - appointed on 1 January 1972. | ||||||||
| The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India | ||||||||
| This Order was instituted by Queen Victoria by Letters Patent dated 23 February 1861, which were gazetted on 25 June 1861. The | ||||||||
| gazette notice reads in part "The Queen, being desirous of affording to the Princes, Chiefs and People of the Indian Empire, a public | ||||||||
| and signal testimony of Her regard, by the Institution of an Order of knighthood, whereby Her resolution to take upon herself the | ||||||||
| Government of the Territories of India may be commemorated, and by which Her Majesty may be enabled to reward conspicuous merit | ||||||||
| and loyalty, has been graciously pleased, by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to | ||||||||
| institute, erect, constitute, and create, an Order of Knighthood, to be known by, and have for ever hereafter, the name, style, and | ||||||||
| designation, of the "Most Exalted Order of the Star of India." | ||||||||
| The original Order had only one class - Knights of the Order of the Star of India (KSI). However, the Order was completely remodelled | ||||||||
| by Letters Patent dated 28 March 1866 (gazetted 25 May 1866). In its new form, the Order consisted of three classes - Knights Grand | ||||||||
| Commander (GCSI), Knights Commander (KCSI) and Companions (CSI). At the same time, all existing Knights of the Order became | ||||||||
| Knights Grand Commander of the remodelled Order. The word "Commander" was chosen instead of the more normal "Knight Grand Cross" | ||||||||
| so as to not offend non-Christian recipients. | ||||||||
| It is interesting to note that one of the original knights was a female, the Begum of Bhopal, and that two of her successors were also | ||||||||
| knighted under the same Order. Women, apart from princely rulers, were ineligible for appointment to the Order, but the Begum was | ||||||||
| appointed as a princely ruler. In 1911, the Order's statutes were amended to allow the appointment of Queen Mary as a Knight Grand | ||||||||
| Commander. | ||||||||
| The last appointments to the Order were made in the 1948 New Year's Honours. There are currently no living members - the last | ||||||||
| member, the Maharaja of Alwar, died in 2011. Since the Order has never been officially abolished, it is now considered as being | ||||||||
| dormant. | ||||||||
| The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George | ||||||||
| This Order was established on 28 Apr 1818 by the Prince Regent, later King George IV. It was originally established to reward "natives | ||||||||
| of the Ionian Islands and of the island of Malta and its dependencies, and for such other subjects as His Majesty as may hold high and | ||||||||
| confidential situations in the Mediterranean." In 1864, following the ceding of the Ionian Islands to Greece, it became necessary to | ||||||||
| remodel the Order, so as to expand its scope to the British colonies in general. As a result, appointments to the Order are now | ||||||||
| generally made up of colonial governors and politicians, together with senior diplomats and members of the Foreign and Commonwealth | ||||||||
| Office. | ||||||||
| The Order comprises three classes - Knight or Dame Grand Cross (GCMG), Knight or Dame Commander (KCMG/DCMG) and | ||||||||
| Commander (CMG). | ||||||||
| The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire | ||||||||
| Queen Victoria established this Order on 1 January 1878 to reward services rendered to the Indian Empire by British and native officials | ||||||||
| serving in India. Initially, it consisted of one class only - Companions, who were not Knights. On 15 Feb 1887, the Order was divided | ||||||||
| into two classes - Knights Commanders and Companions. Shortly thereafter, in June 1887, the Order was again amended so as to | ||||||||
| consist of three classes - Knights Grand Commander (GCIE), Knights Commander (KCIE) and Companions (CIE). | ||||||||
| Appointments to the Order ceased after Indian independence, and, although never formally abolished, following the death of the last | ||||||||
| member, the Maharaja of Dhrangadhra in August 2010, this Order is now considered to be dormant. | ||||||||
| The Royal Victorian Order | ||||||||
| Toward the close of the 19th century, most honours within the British Empire were granted by the sovereign on the advice of his or | ||||||||
| her ministers, including dominions and colonies. On 21 April 1896 Queen Victoria established the Royal Victorian Order, with its statutes | ||||||||
| providing that the members were to be "such persons, being subjects of our Crown, as may have rendered or shall hereafter render | ||||||||
| extraordinary or important or personal services to Us, our heirs and successors, who have merited or may hereafter merit our royal | ||||||||
| favour, or any persons who may hereafter be appointed officers of this Royal Order." | ||||||||
| The Order originally consisted of five classes - Knights and Dames Grand Cross (GCVO), Knights and Dames Commander (KCVO/ | ||||||||
| DCVO), Commanders (CVO), and Members of the 4th and 5th classes (MVO). In 1984, Members of the 4th class became Lieutenants | ||||||||
| with the post-nominal letters of LVO. | ||||||||
| The Royal Victorian Order remains entirely within the Queen's personal gift. It has been open to foreigners since inception, and | ||||||||
| honorary awards are frequently made during state visits by the sovereign to overseas countries, or during visits by overseas | ||||||||
| leaders to the United Kingdom. | ||||||||
| The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire | ||||||||
| The Order of the British Empire was established on 4 June 1917 by King George V, who recognised the need for a new award | ||||||||
| which could be more widely awarded, in recognition of the large numbers of people in the United Kingdom and other parts of the | ||||||||
| British Empire who had contributed to the war effort in non-combatant roles. | ||||||||
| The Order consists of five classes - Knights and Dames Grand Cross (GBE), Knights and Dames Commander (KBE/DBE), | ||||||||
| Commander (CBE), Officer (OBE) and Member (MBE). | ||||||||
| When first established, the Order consisted of only one division. However, on 27 December 1918, the Order was divided into Military | ||||||||
| and Civil Divisions. | ||||||||
| Knight Bachelor | ||||||||
| Knights Bachelor are the oldest but lowest rank of knights in the British honours system. A Knight Bachelor is not a member of an | ||||||||
| Order of Chivalry, unlike members of each of the other orders of knighthood outlined above. | ||||||||
| There is no female equivalent of a Knight Bachelor. The lowest honour that can be bestowed upon a woman is a Dame Commander of | ||||||||
| the British Empire (DBE) which technically is one rank higher than a Knight Bachelor. In addition, a foreigner can be appointed as an | ||||||||
| Honorary knight in any of the existing Orders of Chivalry (Garter, Thistle, Bath, St. Michael and St. George, Royal Victorian Order and | ||||||||
| British Empire) but cannot be appointed as an honorary Knight Bachelor. | ||||||||
| By tradition, members of the clergy receiving a knighthood are not dubbed as knights, as the use of a sword in the dubbing ceremony | ||||||||
| is thought to be innappropriate to their calling. As a result, they are not able to use the title "Sir." | ||||||||
| Honorary knights and dames | ||||||||
| As noted above, each of the Orders of Chivalry (but not Knights Bachelor) have had reasonably large numbers of Honorary Knights | ||||||||
| and Dames appointed to these respective Orders. These awards are generally made to citizens of countries that are not part of | ||||||||
| the British Commonwealth. Recipients of such honorary awards cannot use the pre-nominal syle of "Sir" or "Dame." If an award was | ||||||||
| made to a person at the time when his country of citizenship was a member of the Commonwealth, then the subsequent departure of | ||||||||
| that country from the Commonwealth does not affect that person's right to the title. Conversely, when a person awarded an honorary | ||||||||
| knighthood later becomes a citizen of the Commonwealth then the honorary award usually becomes substantive - for example, Sir | ||||||||
| Terry Wogan who was made an honorary KBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours in 2005. This award was made substantive later that | ||||||||
| year when he became a dual British-Irish citizen. | ||||||||
| Honours systems in other Commonwealth countries | ||||||||
| Canada | ||||||||
| Prior to Confederation in 1867, British Imperial honours were awarded by the Crown on the advice of the British Prime Minister, or on | ||||||||
| the recommendation of the colonial governors of what was then British North America. After Confederation, the Prime Minister of | ||||||||
| Canada submitted, via the Governor General, a list of names for consideration. However, the Governor General also continued to | ||||||||
| recommend individuals for honours without the knowledge or approval of the Prime Minister, a practice which sometimes led to conflict | ||||||||
| between the Governor General and the Prime Minister. | ||||||||
| Public opinion gradually turned against the continued awarding of Imperial honours. The awarding of a knighthood to Samuel Hughes | ||||||||
| in 1915 caused great controversy, culminating in 1917 when Sir Hugh Graham, a newspaper publisher, was created Baron Atholstan. | ||||||||
| The granting of this peerage was made against the advice of both the Governor General and the Canadian Prime Minister, and was | ||||||||
| viewed by the Canadian public as seemingly without merit, particularly as it came at a time when rumours regarding Lloyd George's | ||||||||
| sales of honours were starting to circulate. | ||||||||
| In 1917 William Folger Nickle, a Conservative MP in the Canadian House of Commons, successfully moved a resolution calling for an | ||||||||
| address to be made to King George V requesting that he no longer grant hereditary peerages to Canadians. The resolution was never | ||||||||
| sent to the Canadian Senate, and thus no address to the King was made. Following the establishment of the Order of the British | ||||||||
| Empire, Nickle put a further resolution to the House, and it was decided that the King should be asked to cease conferring "any title | ||||||||
| of honour or titular distinction." Again, the resolution was not forwarded to the Senate and therefore never became legally binding. | ||||||||
| However, it established a policy precedent. | ||||||||
| This precedent was overturned for a brief period between 1933 and 1935 during the government of Richard Bennett, when a number | ||||||||
| of Canadians were granted knighthoods. After William Lyon Mackenzie King returned as Prime Minister in 1935, the precedent set by | ||||||||
| Bennett's government was ignored and the former policy of no titles was resumed and has been in effect ever since. | ||||||||
| As is usually the case, there have, however, been some anomalies. Sir James Hamet Dunn was created a baronet in 1921; Sir William | ||||||||
| Stephenson was knighted in 1945 and Vincent Massey (Governor General of Canada 1952-1959) was made a Companion of Honour in | ||||||||
| in 1946 and received the Royal Victorian Chain in 1960, although neither of these awards carried with it the appellation of "Sir." | ||||||||
| Similarly, Pierre Trudeau was made a Companion of Honour in 1984. | ||||||||
| Dual citizenship of Canada and Britain was been allowed since 1977. Since that time, a number of dual citizens (for example the MP | ||||||||
| Sir Bryant Godman Irvine and Sir Conrad Swan) received knighthoods. On the other hand, in order to receive a life peerage, Conrad | ||||||||
| Black was forced to relinquish his Canadian citizenship in 2001. | ||||||||
| Australia | ||||||||
| The Australian Commonwealth and each of its constituent states originally used the Imperial Honours system. In 1975, the ruling | ||||||||
| Australian Labor Party created the Order of Australia, which has now entirely replaced the Imperial system. Commonwealth- | ||||||||
| recommended awards continued under the Fraser Liberal government until 1983, but these ceased with the election of the Hawke | ||||||||
| Labor government in that year. Two States (Queensland and Tasmania) continued to make Imperial recommendations until 1989 but | ||||||||
| the defeat of both of those states' governments in that year marked the end of Australian recommendations for Imperial awards. | ||||||||
| The Order of Australia was established by Letters Patent on 14 February 1975. It originally consisted of three grades - Companion (AC), | ||||||||
| Officer (AO) and Member (AM), and two divisions - Civil and Military. The Order was re-modelled in May 1976, with two new grades | ||||||||
| being added - Knight or Dame (AK or AD) as the highest grade and Medal of the Order (OAM) as the lowest. | ||||||||
| Following the election of the Hawke Labour government in 1983, the Queen was advised to abolish the Knight/Dame grade, which | ||||||||
| occurred on 3 March 1986. This revocation had no effect upon existing Knights and Dames. The Knight/Dame grade was restored in | ||||||||
| March 2014, and led to a huge controversy in Australia when Prime Minister Abbott granted a Knighthood of the Order of Australia to | ||||||||
| Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. After Abbott was replaced as Prime Minister in September 2015, his successor, Malcolm Turnbull, a | ||||||||
| staunch republican, on 2 November 2015 announced that the grade of Knight or Dame was to be discontinued. | ||||||||
| New Zealand | ||||||||
| Prior to 30 May 1996, New Zealanders received knighthoods or damehoods from each of the existing British orders. After that date, | ||||||||
| appointments have been made to the New Zealand Order of Merit. On 23 January 1995, the then Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jim | ||||||||
| Bolger, established an Advisory Committee on the Royal Honours system. The terms of reference for the Committee were "to consider | ||||||||
| and present options and suggestions on the structure of a New Zealand Royal Honours system, which is designed to recognize | ||||||||
| meritorious service, gallantry and bravery and long service." Specifically, the Committee was to review "the purpose and coverage of | ||||||||
| the current honours system; the appropriateness of the current honours system of a mix of traditional (i.e. British or Imperial) and | ||||||||
| indigenous Royal Honours; whether new honours and awards should be instituted and whether either or both of the existing indigenous | ||||||||
| Orders (i.e. the Order of New Zealand, which was modelled on the British Order of Merit and the Order of the Companions of Honour, | ||||||||
| including the lack of automatic appellations of "Sir" or "Dame", and the Queen's Service Order) should be modified; whether certain | ||||||||
| honours should or should not be titular (i.e. carry the appellation of "Sir" or "Dame"), or some other appellation; and other significant | ||||||||
| aspects of the honours system, for example, timing, frequency, nominations for and number of awards." | ||||||||
| The Committee released its report on 21 September 1995. It recommended that existing British awards be replaced by a New Zealand | ||||||||
| Order of Merit. No titles ("Sir" or "Dame") would be awarded under the Order, and the only British awards which it recommended should | ||||||||
| continue would be those in the personal gift of the Queen - i.e. the Orders of the Garter and the Thistle, the Order of Merit and the | ||||||||
| Royal Victorian Order. | ||||||||
| The New Zealand Order of Merit was established on 30 May 1996. The Order initially contained five levels - Knight or Dame Grand | ||||||||
| Companion (GNZM), Knight or Dame Companion (KNZM/DNZM), Companion (CNZM), Officer (ONZM) and Member (MNZM). Note that | ||||||||
| titles of "Sir" and "Dame" were retained, notwithstanding the recommendation of the Committee. | ||||||||
| On 10 April 2000, the then Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark, announced that the Queen had approved the recommendation | ||||||||
| of her government to discontinue in future the titles of "Sir" and "Dame" in the New Zealand Honours system. As a result, the two | ||||||||
| highest levels of the Order were re-named, with Knights or Dames Grand Companions becoming Principal Companions (PCNZM) and | ||||||||
| Knights or Dames Companions becoming Distinguished Companions (DCNZM). Neither of these two re-named levels carried with them | ||||||||
| the appellation of "Sir" or "Dame", although the existing Knights and Dames of these two levels were permitted to retain their | ||||||||
| titles. | ||||||||
| On 23 March 2009, the Queen signed an Amending Royal Warrant, which provided for:- | ||||||||
| * the reinstatement of titles at the two highest levels of the Order - i.e. Knight and Dame Grand Companion (GNZM) and Knight or | ||||||||
| Dame Companion (KNZM/DNZM) replacing Principal Companions and Distinguished Companions respectively | ||||||||
| * the opportunity for Principal and Distinguished Companions of the Order to elect to be redesignated within the Order as Knights | ||||||||
| or Dames Grand Companion and Knights or Dames Companion respectively | ||||||||
| * the opportunity for those Principal and Distinguished Companions of the Order who already enjoyed a title in another Order of | ||||||||
| Chivalry, or as a Knight Bachelor, to be redesignated within the New Zealand Order of Merit as a Knight or a Dame [I am not aware | ||||||||
| that anyone availed themselves of this opportunity.] | ||||||||
| * an opportunity for the small number of widows of deceased former Principal and Distinguished Companions of the Order to elect to | ||||||||
| use the courtesy title of "Lady" for the rest of their lives. Three widows took advantage of this opportunity. | ||||||||
| * those who elected not to accept a title to remain Principal or Distinguished Companions of the Order, and to retain their existing | ||||||||
| privileges and styles. | ||||||||
| As at March 2009, 85 men and women who had been appointed as Principal or Distinguished Companions of the Order between | ||||||||
| April 2000 and March 2009 were still alive. Of these 85, 72 elected to avail themselves of the opportunity to be redesignated as | ||||||||
| Knights or Dames. For the purposes of this listing each of the redesignated Knights and Dames shows the date of their respective | ||||||||
| creations as being the date of such redesignation, which in all cases except two was 1 August 2009. The two exceptions were Sir | ||||||||
| Anand Satyanand, who was Chancellor of the Order by virtue of his office as Governor General of New Zealand (redesignated 27 | ||||||||
| March 2009), and Dame Heather Begg, whose redesignation on 17 Apr 2009 had been brought forward due to her advanced illness. | ||||||||
| She died less than a month later. In all cases, where such a redesignation occurred, the original date of appointment as a Principal or | ||||||||
| Distinguished Companion is included as part of the forenames of the respective Knight or Dame. | ||||||||
| South Africa | ||||||||
| The British Honours system was used in South Africa up until the election of the Hertzog National Party government in 1924. No awards | ||||||||
| have been made since that time. | ||||||||
| Barbados | ||||||||
| The British Honours system was used in Barbados until 1980, when the Order of Barbados was instituted under Royal Letters Patent | ||||||||
| dated 27 July of that year. The Order consists of four classes, two of which are awarded in two grades. The highest class is the Knight | ||||||||
| or Dame of St. Andrew (KA or DA), which is awarded for "extraordinary and outstanding achievement and merit in service to Barbados | ||||||||
| or to humanity at large." My grateful thanks to Gillian Applewhaite and Andrea Waithe of the Barbadian Cabinet Office for their | ||||||||
| assistance in providing a listing of all Knights and Dames created to date. | ||||||||
| Antigua and Barbuda | ||||||||
| The British Honours system was used in Antigua and Barbuda until 1987, when the Most Distinguished Order of the Nation was | ||||||||
| established. The Order initially consisted of only one grade, with recipients entitled to the post nominal letters of ON. The Order | ||||||||
| was re-established in 1998, when all existing members of the Order of the Nation became Knights or Dames Grand Cross of the | ||||||||
| re-constitued order. The Order has six classes of members, being, in descending order, Knights/Dames Grand Collar (KGN/DGN), | ||||||||
| Knights/Dames Grand Cross (KCGN/DCGN), Knight/Dame Commander (KCN/DCN), Commander (CN), Officer (ON) and Member (MN). | ||||||||
| A separate order of chivalry, the Most Exalted Order of the National Hero, was established in 1994. As with the Most Distinguished | ||||||||
| Order of the Nation, this Order was re-constituted in 1998, when all existing members becames Knights or Dames Companion of the | ||||||||
| revised Order (KNH/DNH). The revised Order consists of a single class only, and there may be no more than three living members | ||||||||
| at any one time. Somewhat confusingly, appointments as a Knight or Dame Companion may be made posthumously. It is not my | ||||||||
| intention to include such awards in the relevant listings, but, for the record, these posthumous appointments currently number three, | ||||||||
| being: | ||||||||
| * King Court Tackey (also known as Prince Klaas), granted a posthumous KNH in 2000. He was a slave who, in 1736, planned a revolt | ||||||||
| against the slave-owners, but the plot was uncovered and he was executed. | ||||||||
| * Georgiana Ellen (Nellie) Robinson (1880-1972), granted a posthumous DNH in 2006. She was a teacher who afforded local children | ||||||||
| the chance of a secondary education, which was otherwise unavailable to them at that time. | ||||||||
| * George Herbert Walter (1928-2008), granted a posthumous KNH in 2008. He was Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda 1971-1976. | ||||||||
| I have been unable to locate a complete official listing of all knights and dames created under the two orders outlined above. Emails | ||||||||
| to the relevant authorities in Antigua have not elicited any responses. As a result, the listings include all of those knights and dames | ||||||||
| of whom I am aware, but I cannot at this time guarantee that the listings are complete. | ||||||||
| St.Lucia | ||||||||
| The Order of Saint Lucia was established in 1980. The highest award in this order is the Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Lucia, which | ||||||||
| is granted only to a person holding the office of Governor General of Saint Lucia. The Grand Cross is limited to a membership of 25 at | ||||||||
| any one time, and no more than three can be awarded in any one year. The award does not entitle the recipient to become a Knight | ||||||||
| or a Dame, but with the exception of Boswell Williams (Governor General 1980-1982) all other Governors General have been created | ||||||||
| Knights or Dames of other orders. | ||||||||
| In February 2016, the Queen for the first time approved the awarding of Knights and Dames Commander of the Order of Saint Lucia. | ||||||||
| Such awards carry the post-nominal letters of KCSL/DCSL. These awards "may be awarded to any person who has rendered | ||||||||
| exceptional and outstanding service of national importance to Saint Lucia." Membership is limited to 20 at any one time, and no more | ||||||||
| than three awards can be made every two years. | ||||||||
| Surname/Title and Forenames | ||||||||
| In general, I have followed the names of knights and dames as they are shown in the various Gazettes. These entries, however, often | ||||||||
| pay no heed to the names by which the person is commonly known - for example Sir Sean Connery's real name is Sir Thomas Sean | ||||||||
| Connery. In such cases, the name is shown as Sir (Thomas) Sean Connery and is indexed on the basis that Thomas is his first name. | ||||||||
| In addition, where a person is commonly known by a name other than their real name - for example Dame Clementine Laine who is | ||||||||
| known as Dame Cleo Laine - the commonly used name is shown in parentheses after the real name. For naming systems other than | ||||||||
| those used in Western countries, and in particular Indian and Moslem names, I have followed, rightly or wrongly, the names shown in | ||||||||
| the Gazettes. For those names (particularly in the listings of honorary knights) that contain the nobiliary particle "Von" I have followed | ||||||||
| the practice of German alphabetical sorting, under which, for example, Manfred von Richthofen would be found under "Richthofen." | ||||||||
| If someone in these listings later became a peer with a title different to their family name, the knighthood is shown under the family | ||||||||
| name. The knighthood is also listed under the peerage title, with a pointer to the family name in question. | ||||||||
| All double-barrelled or hyphenated surnames are indexed under the first element of the surname. | ||||||||
| "Mac" and "Mc" are treated as being the same and are indexed accordingly. Similarly "St." is treated as being "Saint." | ||||||||
| Date Knighted | ||||||||
| In the foreword to the 1949-1950 edition of "Knights Bachelor" published by the Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor, Sir Gerald | ||||||||
| Wollaston (Knight Principal of the Society and a former Garter King of Arms) writes that "the inclusion of a name in an 'Honours List' | ||||||||
| as a Knight Bachelor does not make the gentleman a Knight. It only expresses the King's intention to make him a Knight. He does not | ||||||||
| become a Knight, and entitled to the prefix "Sir," until (a) he receives the accolade from the king personally, or from someone | ||||||||
| specially deputed by his Majesty to confer it, or (b) if abroad, or for any other reason unable to attend for investiture, he receives | ||||||||
| Letters Patent under the Great Seal conferring the Degree upon him. The same principle applies to persons nominated to the first and | ||||||||
| second Classes of the Orders of Knighthood. A person nominated a K.C.B. in an Honours List is thereby made a member of the Second | ||||||||
| Class of the Order of the Bath; but he is not a Knight, nor entitled to the prefix "Sir," until he receives the accolade. My | ||||||||
| experience is that these things are little understood by the majority of the public." [my emphasis] | ||||||||
| This situation was somewhat modified by a notice in London Gazette dated 8 June 1965 which reads:- | ||||||||
| "It is the Queen's wish that when an announcement has been approved by the Sovereign and has been published officially to the | ||||||||
| effect that the honour of Knighthood is to be conferred on a person he should forthwith assume the distinctive appellation or prefix of | ||||||||
| a Knight. | ||||||||
| "Appointment as Knight Bachelor will nevertheless require completion subsequently as heretofore by Investiture. Letters | ||||||||
| patent will be used only in those exceptional cases in which personal Investiture is impracticable [my emphasis]. | ||||||||
| "Provision is being made, by her Majesty's command, in the Statutes of the Order of the Bath, the Order of St. Michael and St. George, | ||||||||
| the Royal Victorian Order and the Order of the British Empire so that Knights Grand Cross and Knights Commander on official publication | ||||||||
| of their appointments will forthwith assume the Knighthood prefix. The appointments will require completion subsequently by Investiture | ||||||||
| and presentation of the insignia." | ||||||||
| One immediate effect of this change was the wording used in various Gazette notices. Prior to this change, a typical notice would read | ||||||||
| that the Queen was pleased, on such and such a date, to confer the honour of Knighthood upon John Smith. Following this change, the | ||||||||
| wording altered to Sir John Smith. | ||||||||
| For all Orders other than Knights Bachelor, the Gazette records that a person has been appointed to or promoted within that particular | ||||||||
| Order. Except in a very few isolated cases, the Gazette does not, however, record any subsequent date of investiture. On the other | ||||||||
| hand, in almost every case of a Knight Bachelor, the Gazette records both the notice of the Sovereign's intention to confer the honour | ||||||||
| of Knighthood and the subsequent investiture. | ||||||||
| My policy has therefore been, for all Orders other than Knights Bachelor, to use the date shown in the various Gazettes as being the | ||||||||
| date of creation of the honour. For Knights Bachelor, I have used the date of investiture. In a small number of cases, the date of | ||||||||
| creation is shown in the listings in italics. These instances are due to the following reasons :- | ||||||||
| * While the Gazette includes a notice of the intention to confer a Knighthood, I have been unable to find any subsequent notice of | ||||||||
| investiture | ||||||||
| * Other works of reference (e.g. Who's Who) show that a person was created a Knight but I have unable to find any notice to that | ||||||||
| effect in the Gazette. In these cases, I have simply used the year of creation shown in that other work of reference | ||||||||
| * While the Gazette includes a notice of the intention to confer a Knighthood, the intended recipient died before the investiture could | ||||||||
| take place | ||||||||
| * The notice of intention to create a Knighthood was published so recently as to allow insufficient time for the investiture to take | ||||||||
| place - for example, those knights shown in the 2015 Birthday Honours List. Such cases will be amended to show the date of | ||||||||
| investiture as it takes place. | ||||||||
| If any knight included in the listings had received his knighthood prior to the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837 and then received a | ||||||||
| promotion after her accession, the original knighthood is shown in the relevant knights' forenames. | ||||||||
| Dates of birth and death | ||||||||
| The vast majority of knights and dames who died after 1897 are to be found in the various editions of "Who Was Who." Before that | ||||||||
| time, the annual "Who's Who" was made up of a series of listings such as peers, members of Parliament, high ecclesiastical posts etc. | ||||||||
| without much in the way of biographical detail. For those knights who died before 1897 and who are not noticed in other publications | ||||||||
| such as the the "Dictionary of National Biography" I have relied upon notices of death contained in a large number of contemporary | ||||||||
| newspapers. | ||||||||
| Summary of abbreviations of the various Orders of Knighthood used in these pages | ||||||||
| KG/LG | Knight/Lady of the Most Noble Order of the Garter | |||||||
| KT/LT | Knight/Lady of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle | |||||||
| KP | Knight of the Most Illustrious Order of St. Patrick | |||||||
| GCB | Knights/Dames Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath | |||||||
| KCB/DCB | Knights/Dames Commander of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath | |||||||
| KSI | Knights of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India | |||||||
| GCSI | Knights Grand Commander of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India | |||||||
| KCSI | Knights Commander of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India | |||||||
| GCMG | Knights/Dames Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George | |||||||
| KCMG/DCMG | Knights/Dames Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George | |||||||
| GCIE | Knights Grand Commander of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire | |||||||
| KCIE | Knights Commander of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire | |||||||
| GCVO | Knights/Dames Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order | |||||||
| KCVO/DCVO | Knights/Dames Commander of the Royal Victorian Order | |||||||
| GBE | Knights/Dames Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire | |||||||
| KBE/DBE | Knights/Dames Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire | |||||||
| Kt Bach | Knight Bachelor | |||||||
| AK/AD | Knight/Dame of the Order of Australia | |||||||
| GNZM | Knight/Dame Grand Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit | |||||||
| KNZM/DNZM | Knight/Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit | |||||||
| PCNZM | Principal Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit | |||||||
| DCNZM | Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit | |||||||
| KA/DA | Knight/Dame of St. Andrew (within the Order of Barbados) | |||||||
| KGN/DGN | Knights/Dames Grand Collar of the Most Distinguished Order of the Nation (Antigua and Barbuda) | |||||||
| KGCN/DCGN | Knights/Dames Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of the Nation (Antigua and Barbuda) | |||||||
| KCN/DCN | Knights/Dames Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of the Nation (Antigua and Barbuda) | |||||||
| KNH/DNH | Knights/Dames Companion of the Most Exalted Order of the National Hero (Antigua and Barbuda) | |||||||
| KCSL/DCSL | Knights/Dames Commander of the Order of Saint Lucia | |||||||
| Civ | Civil Division of the Order of the Bath and the Order of St. Michael and St. George | |||||||
| Mil | Military Division of the Order of the Bath and the Order of St. Michael and St. George | |||||||
| Centenarians (in chronological order) | ||||||||
| Name | Order and year | Born | Died | Age | ||||
| Montefiore, Moses, later [1846] 1st baronet | Kt Bach 1837 | 24 Oct 1784 | 28 Jul 1885 | 100 | ||||
| Wallis, Provo William Parry | KCB 1860 GCB 1873 | 12 Apr 1791 | 13 Feb 1892 | 100 | ||||
| Pitman, Henry Alfred | Kt Bach 1883 | 1 Jul 1808 | 6 Nov 1908 | 100 | ||||
| Engleheart, John Gardner Dillman | Kt Bach 1892 KCB 1897 | 2 Feb 1823 | 10 Apr 1923 | 100 | ||||
| Higginson, George Wentworth Alexander | KCB 1889 GCB 1903 GCVO 1922 | 21 Jun 1826 | 1 Feb 1927 | 100 | ||||
| Maclean, Fitzroy Donald, 10th baronet | KCB 1904 | 18 May 1835 | 22 Nov 1936 | 101 | ||||
| Mulock, William | KCMG 1902 | 19 Jan 1843 | 1 Oct 1944 | 101 | ||||
| Coates, William | KCB 1930 | 14 Jun 1860 | 13 Jan 1962 | 101 | ||||
| Mitchell, William | KCMG 1927 | 27 Mar 1861 | 25 Jun 1962 | 101 | ||||
| Visvesvaraya, Mokshagundam, Diwan of Mysore 1912-1918 | KCIE 1915 | 15 Sep 1861 | 14 Apr 1962 | 100 | ||||
| Oliver, Henry Francis | KCB 1916 KCMG 1918 GCB 1928 | 22 Jan 1865 | 15 Oct 1965 | 100 | ||||
| Christophers, (Samuel) Rickard | Kt Bach 1932 | 27 Nov 1873 | 19 Feb 1978 | 104 | ||||
| Brittain, Henry Ernest [Harry] | KBE 1918 | 24 Dec 1873 | 9 Jul 1974 | 100 | ||||
| Chick, Harriette | DBE 1949 | 6 Jan 1875 | 9 Jul 1977 | 102 | ||||
| Couchman, Elizabeth May Ramsay | DBE 1960 | 19 Apr 1876 | 18 Nov 1982 | 106 | ||||
| Mayer, Robert | Kt Bach 1939 KCVO 1979 | 5 Jun 1879 | 9 Jan 1985 | 105 | ||||
| Scicluna, Hannibal Publius | Kt Bach 1955 | 15 Feb 1880 | 21 Dec 1981 | 101 | ||||
| Schuster, George Ernest | KCMG 1926 KCSI 1931 | 25 Apr 1881 | 5 Jun 1982 | 101 | ||||
| Bird, Clarence August | KCIE 1943 | 5 Feb 1885 | 30 Jul 1986 | 101 | ||||
| Platt, Harry, later [1958] 1st baronet | Kt Bach 1948 | 7 Oct 1886 | 20 Dec 1986 | 100 | ||||
| Sopwith, Thomas Octave Murdoch | Kt Bach 1953 | 18 Jan 1888 | 27 Jan 1989 | 101 | ||||
| Smith, (Alexander) Rowland | Kt Bach 1944 | 25 Jan 1888 | 19 Apr 1988 | 100 | ||||
| Howard, Walter Stewart | Kt Bach 1963 | 25 Nov 1888 | 24 Sep 1992 | 103 | ||||
| Dos Santos, Errol Lionel | Kt Bach 1946 | 1 Sep 1890 | 19 Nov 1992 | 102 | ||||
| Ffrangcon-Davies, Gwen Lucy | DBE 1991 | 25 Jan 1891 | 27 Jan 1992 | 101 | ||||
| Hetet, Rangimarie | DBE 1992 | 24 May 1892 | 14 Jun 1995 | 103 | ||||
| Sobell, Michael | Kt Bach 1972 | 1 Nov 1892 | 31 Aug 1993 | 100 | ||||
| Edmenson, Walter Alexander | Kt Bach 1958 | 1892 | 6 Oct 1992 | 100 | ||||
| Stark, Freya Madeline | DBE 1972 | 31 Jan 1893 | 9 May 1993 | 100 | ||||
| Barnard, (Arthur Thomas) | Kt Bach 1958 | 28 Sep 1893 | 6 Jul 1995 | 101 | ||||
| Christison, Alexander Frank Philip, 4th baronet | KBE 1944 GBE 1948 | 17 Nov 1893 | 21 Dec 1993 | 100 | ||||
| De Valois, Ninette | DBE 1951 | 6 Jun 1898 | 8 Mar 2001 | 102 | ||||
| Denning, Alfred Thompson, later [1957] Baron Denning [L] | Kt Bach 1944 | 23 Jan 1899 | 5 Mar 1999 | 100 | ||||
| Hugo, John Mandeville | KCVO 1969 | 1 Jul 1899 | 21 Jul 2000 | 101 | ||||
| Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother [H.M. Elizabeth Angela Marguerite] | GBE 1927 LG 1936 GCVO 1937 LT 1937 | 4 Aug 1900 | 30 Mar 2002 | 101 | ||||
| Firth, Raymond William | Kt Bach 1973 | 25 Mar 1901 | 22 Feb 2002 | 100 | ||||
| Thomas, Robert Evan | Kt Bach 1967 | 8 Oct 1901 | 17 Apr 2004 | 102 | ||||
| Gloucester, Duchess of, H.R.H Alice Christabel | GBE 1937 GCVO 1948 GCB 1975 | 25 Dec 1901 | 29 Oct 2004 | 102 | ||||
| Shawcross, Hartley William, later [1959] Baron Shawcross [L] | Kt Bach 1945 | 4 Feb 1902 | 10 Jul 2003 | 101 | ||||
| Crocker, Walter Russell | KBE 1977 | 25 Mar 1902 | 14 Nov 2002 | 100 | ||||
| Melville, Leslie Galfreid | KBE 1957 | 26 Mar 1902 | 30 Apr 2002 | 100 | ||||
| Henry, Trevor Ernest | Kt Bach 1970 | 9 May 1902 | 20 Jun 2007 | 105 | ||||
| Smieton, Mary Guillan | DBE 1949 | 5 Dec 1902 | 23 Jan 2005 | 102 | ||||
| Fisher, George Read | Kt Bach 1968 | 23 Mar 1903 | 13 Jul 2007 | 104 | ||||
| Farquharson, James Robbie | KBE 1960 | 1 Nov 1903 | 17 Feb 2005 | 101 | ||||
| Marshall, Arthur Gregory George | Kt Bach 1974 | 4 Dec 1903 | 16 Mar 2007 | 103 | ||||
| Peel, John Harold | KCVO 1960 | 10 Dec 1904 | 31 Dec 2005 | 101 | ||||
| Richardson, (John) Eric | Kt Bach 1967 | 30 Jun 1905 | 20 Jul 2006 | 101 | ||||
| Chilton, Frederick Oliver | Kt Bach 1969 | 23 Jul 1905 | 1 Oct 2007 | 102 | ||||
| Walling, Sydney | KNH 2004 | 12 Jul 1907 | 8 Oct 2009 | 102 | ||||
| Shaw, Run Run | Kt Bach 1978 | Nov 1907 | 7 Jan 2014 | 106 | ||||
| Biggs, Norman Parris | Kt Bach 1977 | 23 Dec 1907 | 25 Jul 2011 | 103 | ||||
| Godber, George Edward | KCB 1962 GCB 1971 | 4 Aug 1908 | 7 Feb 2009 | 100 | ||||
| Murdoch, Elisabeth Joy | DBE 1963 | 8 Feb 1909 | 5 Dec 2012 | 103 | ||||
| Winton, Nicholas George | Kt Bach 2003 | 19 May 1909 | 1 Jul 2015 | 106 | ||||
| Keppel, Diana Cicely, Countess of Albemarle [2nd wife of the 9th Earl of Albemarle] | DBE 1956 | 6 Aug 1909 | 6 May 2013 | 103 | ||||
| Warner, Frederick Edward | Kt Bach 1968 | 31 Mar 1910 | 3 Jul 2010 | 100 | ||||
| Mahon, (John) Denis | Kt Bach 1986 | 8 Nov 1910 | 24 Apr 2011 | 100 | ||||
| Glenn, (Joseph Robert) Archibald | Kt Bach 1966 | 24 May 1911 | 4 Jan 2012 | 100 | ||||
| Jones, Keith Stephen | Kt Bach 1980 | 7 Jul 1911 | 2 Mar 2012 | 100 | ||||
| Hovell-Thurlow-Cumming-Bruce, Francis Edward, later [1971] 8th Baron Thurlow | KCMG 1960 | 9 Mar 1912 | 24 Mar 2013 | 101 | ||||
| Ollerenshaw, Kathleen Mary | DBE 1971 | 1 Oct 1912 | 10 Aug 2014 | 101 | ||||
| Kettlewell, Marion Mildred | DBE 1970 | 20 Feb 1914 | 11 Apr 2016 | 102 | ||||
| Dangoor, Naim Eliahou | Kt Bach 2015 | Apr 1914 | 19 Nov 2015 | 101 | ||||
| Pearson, Thomas Cecil Hook | KCB 1967 | 1 Jul 1914 | ||||||
| Dawtry, Alan Graham | Kt Bach 1974 | 8 Apr 1915 | 27 Jan 2018 | 102 | ||||
| Burston, Samuel Gerald Wood | Kt Bach 1977 | 24 Apr 1915 | 14 Jul 2015 | 100 | ||||
| Hill, Felicity Barbara | DBE 1966 | 12 Dec 1915 | ||||||
| Henderson [Kelleher from 1970], Joan Evelyn | DBE 1965 | 24 Dec 1915 | 23 Sep 2018 | 102 | ||||
| Heron, Conrad Frederick | KCB 1974 | 21 Feb 1916 | ||||||
| De Havilland, Olivia Mary | DBE 2017 | 1 Jul 1916 | ||||||
| Haskard, Cosmo Dugal Patrick Thomas | KCMG 1965 | 25 Nov 1916 | 21 Feb 2017 | 100 | ||||
| Lynn, Vera Margaret | DBE 1975 | 20 Mar 1917 | ||||||
| Hewitt, (Cyrus) Lenox Simson | Kt Bach 1971 | 7 May 1917 | ||||||
| Knowles, Durward Randolph | Kt Bach 1996 | 2 Nov 1917 | ||||||
| Chung, Sze-yuen | Kt Bach 1978 GBE 1988 | 3 Nov 1917 | 14 Nov 2018 | 101 | ||||
| Geering, Lloyd George | GNZM 2009 | 26 Feb 1918 | ||||||