Elvis MBE

Malcolm Baker

Elvis impersonator Malcolm Baker was one of 24 Oxfordshire people to receive awards.

Mr Baker, a Royal Mail accounts manager, who gets an MBE for his charity work, learned the news on his 51st birthday.

He was recognised for services to the community in Kidlington, where his annual variety shows have raised more than £40,000 for good causes.

He said: "It's a great honour. I couldn't believe it when I got the letter. It came through the door with my birthday cards and I checked the postcode and the envelope three times. It took about 10 minutes before it sank in."

Mr Baker, of Bicester Road, Kidlington, started raising money for children's charities in 1990, after the death of his two-year-old nephew.

He set up Kidlington Theatre Group five years ago, and has raised £20,000 with the variety shows, held every February, which feature his now legendary Elvis impersonation. He often performs as Elvis at local events.

Most of the money raised has gone to Oxford hospices Helen House and Douglas House and to the Oxford and District Branch of the Multiple Sclerosis Society.

The shows are a family effort. His wife Kathleen makes his costumes, and his son Alan, 21, and daughter Hannah, 25, also help out.

David Patterson, who created the Oxford Centre for Jewish and Hebrew Studies in 1972, received a CBE.

Mr Patterson, 81, who lives in Oxford, said: "It was my idea to found it because I realised the tremendous richness of the Bodleian Library.

"It's one of the great collections of Jewish manuscripts in the world and it seemed a pity no-one could use it.

"During the Second World War the Nazis destroyed all the institutions of learning and I wanted to salvage something in Oxford.

"I found out about the award when I came back from America to lots of post.

"When I saw the letter I thought it was an income tax bill, so it was a very pleasant surprise to open it."

Anthony Nolan Trust chairman Simon Dyson received an MBE for services to charity. During his 15 years in the post, the trust has increased its donor register to 330,000, making it the largest of its kind in the world.

The 52-year-old father-of-six, who lives in Aston Rowant, near Thame, has a long history of charity work

In 1986, he co-ordinated the recruitment by the Round Table of 100,000 potential donors for the trust. He was national president of the Round Table in 1990-91.

Mr Dyson, who is the group finance director for the Daily Mail, said: "I take it as an honour for the charity."

Graham Perry, the driving force behind the Didcot Railway Centre, got an MBE.