Queen’s Birthday Honours: Senior Orangeman Rev Mervyn Gibson ‘surprised and humbled’ by MBE honour

The former RUC Special Branch officer becomes an MBE in recognition of his services to the community.

Rev Gibson, who recently led celebrations for Northern Ireland’s centenary at an Orange Order event in Belfast attended by around 100,000 people, was a member of the police for nearly two decades.

Subsequently he became a Presbyterian minister, working in east Belfast.

“I am very honoured and very humbled by it, I have to say,” Rev Gibson told the PA news agency.

“It is just a surprise, at the end of the day.

“When the letter comes through and you open it and read it, you sort of think – is this a joke from a friend?”

Rev Gibson, a prominent figure in the unionist community, has been a leading voice in the campaign against the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol trading arrangements that have created barriers on the movement of goods between Great Britain and the region.

“It was a complete surprise,” he said of the letter. “Several weeks ago I was just coming into the house and got the letter. It was a Saturday. I couldn’t believe it. It was in some sort of official government envelope. I thought it was about something else entirely. I couldn’t believe it. I was extremely surprised and got quite emotional and yes, so did my wife, Lynda, who was overjoyed.”

He did shed a tear of joy, he confirmed. “To be recognised by Her Majesty is a once in a lifetime occasion.”

The citation for his award is for services to the community. Dating back to 2000, it is understood he helped negotiate the end of several internal loyalist feuds.

Since then he has been building community relationships and peacekeeping across Belfast. He also headed up the east Belfast Covid response during the pandemic.

He insisted the honour was not only for him, but for all those who helped him down the years, especially his wife and family.

“I have the support of my church, congregation, support of the community I work with in east Belfast and further afield,” he said.

“It is recognising all their work – while it is coming to me, there are so many people who have assisted me and helped me and supported me along the way.”

Meanwhile, an Army widow has said being named in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list is “all the more special” due to the Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

Christine Gemmell, 62, from Dromara in Co Down, has been awarded the British Empire Medal for services to the Army Widows’ Association.

Ms Gemmell said she is “absolutely thrilled” about the award which she says is recognition of all the “vitally important” work the organisation does.

A nurse by profession, Ms Gemmell became involved with the Army Widows’ Association following the death of her husband.

Stephen Gemmell, from Thame in Oxfordshire, worked for the Special Investigations Branch and died from a heart attack in March 2005 at the age of 47.

Ms Gemmell, who has held the position of chair at the organisation, said the Army Widows’ Association is a “lifeline for so many people” and brings together women who share an “immediate bond”.

Speaking about her award, Ms Gemmell told the PA news agency: “I’m shocked but I’m absolutely thrilled. Absolutely thrilled and delighted.

“I don’t know whether it just makes it all the more special because it’s in the Platinum Jubilee year.”

Ms Gemmell added: “We all consider ourselves very loyal to the Queen.”

She said she refers to the widows as “my other family”, adding: “It’s just an immediate bond. It’s very hard to describe.”

Ms Gemmell said: “I’ve got friends all over the place and when you meet it’s like you’ve never been apart.”

The Army Widows’ Association was founded in 2004 by a group of Army widows who felt that there was a need for an organisation that represented and understood the needs of Army widows.

It welcomes widows, widowers and recognised partners of Army personnel, regardless of cause of death.

Ms Gemmell said: “I think it’s just vitally important the work that we do. And it’s run by widows for widows, and is completely voluntary.

“It’s (the award) recognition of all the work that we do.”

Another recipient is, Eileen Kelly-McGregor, chair of the trustees at the Army Widows’ Association, who is made a MBE for voluntary service to bereaved families.