Memorandum by J R M Branston (HON 29)
I note that you are actively considering the
Honours System, and that you would value opinions. I am a retired
schoolmaster, who has views, and who would be glad to have a chance
to air them.
I approve of an Honours System. It seems a harmless,
and probably cost-effective way of reward.
I actually still like "British Empire".
We may no longer have one (as someone pointed out, the French
still have a Legion d'Honneur!), but it is a link with tradition.
Equally, should it be thought too offensive (to whom ?), I could
go along with U.K., but if Britain is thought best, then Great
Britain might have a nicer ring.
I think that an Honours System needs three grades:
1. To reward long and devoted service.
2. To reward long service in which there
has been an element of leadership.
3. To reward service where leadership and/or
quite outstanding service is the foremost criterion.
Perhaps I might quote the awards to the England
Rugby squad. In my system, Dawson would get level 1, Johnson level
2, and Woodward level 3.1 have to say that, as a delighted and
passionate Rugby fan, I'm not sure I approve of wholesale honours.
Personally, I would have honoured only Woodward and Johnson. The
fact that Wilkinson, at 21, had already received an honour merely
highlights a flaw in the system, ie a desire in "higher places"
to get identified with some aspect of popular culture. I don't
see why my three criteria should not apply equally to the Arts,
Music, Television, Sport etc.
Perhaps a better analogy might be in my ex field
of Education. Level 1, the chalk face worker; level 2 the good
Head Teacher; level 3 the quite outstanding Head Teacher who has
contributed to Education in a broader context.
It follows, then, that one of the present grades
of award is superfluous; I suspect it may be the C. I would keep
M for 1, O for 2 and K/D for 3, and, yes, I approve of the titles.
ONE OR
TWO PROBLEMS
The Services
Maybe one should get rid of the Military BE,
and use the Bath as a Service Order, along the lines of the MG
for the Diplomatic. The three levels would still apply.
The Civil Service
I suspect there are too many awards here, and
the "Buggins' Turn" element needs looking at. I am aware
that years ago, it was important to get the "right"
award; if I have it right, a BE signalled that you were at your
highest, and a B that you were up for promotion. It could well
have been the other way round, but the principle remains! This
is not what Honours are for. I was also told by a Civil Servant
that it was much cheaper to give a CBE to some than a pay rise
to all. In the immortal phrase, "You could not possibly expect
me to comment".
I have never understood the KC and KGC grades.
But, again, I suppose there is a reason to reward someone at the
end of a long period of service when he/she has already received
a K/D. I can't see any harm, though perhaps only one grade is
necessary.
The OM and CH should remain.
Where do the Dominions and the Commonwealth stand
on all this?
I support the recent initiatives to get a wider
selection of people both nominating and nominated. By its nature,
the system is going to favour large organisations, of whatever
sort, who can see a wider picture. This is endemic. I hope the
System will not be used in a social engineering way. In the latest
List, there were more Dames in Education than Sirs; they may well
all have been deserved, but there was a whiff of PC.
I am never sure of "For political and Public
Services", particularly as it usually involves a K/D. These
people would mostly fit into my Grade 2. I have an uneasy feeling
that this really is a way of paying political debts which should
perhaps lie outside the system. Is a K/D for a sitting MP, for
instance, ever justified?
You will gather that I do think the system is
important, and it needs respect. In the recent furore when it
was revealed that 300 people had turned down Honours, no-one seemed
to pick up on what I thought was a huge plus point. Virtually
all those who declined had done so with some grace, and within
the limits of the offer, that is, in confidence. I thought this
was splendid on all counts.
February 2004
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