A long-serving former Greenwich councillor and the chair of the trust preserving St George’s Garrison Church in Woolwich have been made MBEs in the New Year’s Honours list.
Spencer Drury, a former leader of the Conservatives in Greenwich and a councillor in Eltham North for 20 years, was given the honour for political and public service.
The director of the sixth form at Colfe’s School in Lee, Drury first entered politics in 1997, winning just 2.4 per cent of the vote in Lewisham East for the short-lived Referendum Party – he later suggested he was a “eurosceptic remainer”. He stood for the Tories in Eltham in 2005 and 2015, as well as Greenwich & Woolwich in 2010.
But Drury had more success at Woolwich Town Hall, winning a seat in the Eltham North ward when it was created in 2002, only losing out when his old seat was split up two decades later. He was also the leader of the opposition for nine years.
The 54-year-old said: “I was surprised and delighted to receive the letter telling me I had been awarded this honour. It has been a pleasure to meet and work with some wonderful people and organisations over the years with the shared aim of improving residents’ standard of living in southeast London. I am just very grateful to be recognised in this way.”
Charlie Davis, his former co-councillor in Eltham North and the Tory candidate for Eltham & Chislehurst, said: “I’ve known Spence for many years, and he is a dedicated public servant who cares deeply about his community. I cannot think of anyone who is more deserving of this honour, it is a pleasure to not just count him as a former colleague, but a mentor and friend.”
Also honoured in this year’s list is Tim Barnes, who chairs the St George’s Garrison Church Trust. The Victorian church off Woolwich Common was hit by a flying bomb in 1941, gutting the interior, and stayed a shell until the MInistry of Defence handed over the building 70 years later.
A fabric roof was installed in 2015 and the trust is now leading projects to conserve and restore parts of the church, which is now used for events and regular outdoor film screenings.
Barnes, a former KC who specialised in fraud, terrorism and homicide cases, is also a former chair of the Greenwich Society, with which he is still involved. He is also a trustee of the Friends of Westcombe Woodlands, a green space tucked away behind housing on Maze Hill.
Tiffany Beck, the chair of the Maritime Academy Trust, which runs five primary schools in Greenwich borough, has been made an OBE.
The trust is in charge of Brooklands school in Blackheath, Greenacres school in Eltham, Timbercroft school in Plumstead, Millennium school in Greenwich and Nightingale school in Woolwich. It also runs Hook Lane school in Welling and a number of schools in north Kent.
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