Three Caians have been recognised in The King’s New Year Honours List. 

William Lockhart (Music 2003) was awarded an OBE for Services to the Environment. 

Timothy Gardam (English 1974) was awarded a CBE for Services to Journalism and to Education. 

Ruth Hannant (History 1993) was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath for Public Service.

Dr William Lockhart is Deputy Director of International Biodiversity and Wildlife in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. He is responsible for representing the UK at international negotiations on cooperation to protect the natural world. 

After reading Music at Caius, Will continued his musical education gaining an MMus from King’s College London, and a PhD from Humboldt-Universität in Berlin while completing a predoctoral fellowship at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science. Since joining the Civil Service he has held a variety of positions in a number of Departments. 

He says: “It’s a privilege to be nominated for an honour, and to accept it on behalf of all the hard-working members of UK society who dedicate themselves to protecting and conserving the natural world at home and abroad. It’s an honour to keep working with people from all walks of life to ensure that we all have sustainable futures ahead of us.”

Image: Will Lockhart by Kiara Worth

Tim Gardam is chief executive of the Nuffield Foundation, a leading independent funder of research into education, justice and social policy and practice in the UK. He was Principal of St Anne's College, Oxford until 2016. This followed a career in broadcasting at the BBC, where he was editor of Panorama and Newsnight and Head of Current Affairs programmes, Channel 5, and Channel 4, where he was Director of Programmes from 1998 to 2003. At Oxford, he established The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. He was a non-executive member of the Ofcom Board from 2008 to 2015 where he was also Chair of the Content Board.   

Ruth and her job-share partner of 13 years Polly Payne are jointly Directors General for Policy at the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS). Last year the pair led the government's delivery of the Coronation of King Charles III. Prior to this they were responsible for Rail in the Department for Transport as the first job-share at Director General level in government and were Director leads for Higher Education and on Strategy at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. They started working together in HM Treasury in 2010. Polly was also honoured.

Ruth has been a civil servant since leaving Caius in 1996.