DORSET residents have spoken of their delight and surprise after being recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

A former Thomas Hardye school pupil said she was "extremely shocked" to hear she'd been awarded an MBE.

Anna Rose Barker, 28, was born and brought up in Sydling St Nicholas. She was awarded the MBE for services to young people, after being involved with the Dorset Youth Council – of which she was chairman – as well as being a Member of Youth Parliament (MEP) for Dorset.

In 2017 she won a Third Sector Award for steering the Youth Council through a period of change during her role as chairman.

Anna said: " I was extremely shocked. My dad was in London visiting me when the letter arrived, and my boyfriend was also there when I opened it.

"My dad was flabbergasted", she added.

"The letter went to the British Youth Council first, so it arrived late - think it sent my parents into a panic about whether there would be time to accept."

Anna now lives in south London where she works with schools helping young people into further education.

Speaking from the family home in Sydling St Nicholas, Anna's mum Anne Barker said she was "immensely proud" of her daughter's achievement, and praised her daughter's list of achievements, which include involvement working as team leader with a project for young people in Zimbabwe.

Dorset County Hospital's chief executive has been awarded the OBE for services to the NHS.

Patricia Miller joined DCH NHS Foundation Trust as director of operations in 2011, when the hospital was in breach of its licence.

Since then she has turned DCH's fortunes around, delivering a consistently high level of performance for two years and placing the organisation in the top 20 per cent of Foundation Trusts at the end of 2013.

She was appointed chief executive in September 2014, and is one among a handful of black, Asian and minority ethnicity NHS CEOs.

Mrs Miller was named one of 25 Rising Stars of the NHS in 2013 and one of the top 50 CEOs in 2019.

Patricia Miller said: “I’ve worked for the NHS for almost 30 years and have always been extremely proud to be a public servant.

"I’ve been fortunate to work with some amazing staff and fantastic colleagues during that time and I couldn’t have achieved what I have without them.

"Special thanks to staff and colleagues at Dorset County Hospital. It’s a privilege to work alongside such a hardworking and dedicated team and to live within such a supportive local community.”

Other county recipients include Shirley Sorbie awarded an MBE for services to children with disabilities in Dorset.

Mrs Sorbie has dedicated her life to the Dorset Deaf Children’s Society for 27 years, giving emotional and practical help to 150 families.

The society puts on events bringing families together and Mrs Sorbie ensures families have high quality local support which meets their needs.

She contributed to the development of the New-born Hearing Screening Programme and devotes many hours to the society while looking after her own family.

Mrs Sorbie has three children, two of whom are hearing-impaired, as is her husband.

She said: “I have known about the MBE for a month and it’s been really hard keeping it secret. It was a shock and I have been blown away by it.

“I’ve also been quite emotional about it because it means so much to me. I have given a big part of my life to the society and all the children I meet thee feel like family to me.”

Also receiving the MBE is Kenneth Reynolds, a former student support worker at The Blandford School for services to at-risk young people in the community, and June Boyne for services to dance in Swanage.

In the world of showbusiness, Oscar-winner Olivia Colman she was “totally thrilled” to be made a CBE.

The actress , 45, who won the best actress Oscar for her role as Queen Anne in The Favourite earlier this year and will play Queen Elizabeth II in the third series of The Crown, is honoured for services to drama under her real name Sarah Sinclair. She also starred in west-Dorset set crime drama Broadchurch.