Declining a British honour

The following is a partial list of people who have declined a British honour, such as a knighthood or an honour, usually within the Order of the British Empire. In most cases, the honour was rejected privately; others were rejected publicly, or accepted and then returned later, as with John Lennon and Rabindranath Tagore.

Nowadays potential recipients are contacted by Downing Street, well before any public announcement is made, to confirm in writing whether they wish to be put forward for an honour. Therefore, those who now decline an honour when it is announced normally will have indicated acceptance beforehand, but not always (e.g. Keith Hill).

Some potential recipients have rejected one honour then accepted another one (such as Sir Alfred Hitchcock^[1], or have initially refused an honour then accepted it, or have accepted one honour then declined another (such as actors Robert Morley and Vanessa Redgrave^[2]), or refused in the hope of another (Roald Dahl refused being decorated as Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE),^[1] allegedly because he wanted a knighthood so that his wife would be Lady Dahl).^{[citation needed]}

Sometimes a potential recipient will refuse a knighthood or peerage, but will accept an honour that does not carry a title, such as the Order of Merit (OM) or Order of the Companions of Honour (CH): Bertrand Russell, Paul Scofield, Doris Lessing, Harold Pinter (although Pinter's widow, Lady Antonia Fraser, later received a DBE),^[3] David Hockney, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Augustus John, Francis Crick and Paul Dirac are examples of this list category.

Many modern examples were identified in December 2003 when a confidential document containing over 300 names of such people was leaked to The Sunday Times.^[4]

Honours declined

Crown

• In 1657, Oliver Cromwell, already Head of State and head of Government, was offered the crown by Parliament as part of a revised constitutional settlement; he had been "instrumental" in abolishing the monarchy. Cromwell agonised for six weeks over the offer. In a speech on 13 April 1657 he gave his opinion that the office of monarch, once abolished, should stay so: “I would not seek to set up that which Providence hath destroyed and laid in the dust, and I would not build Jericho again”.^[5]

Dukedom

• Sir Winston Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC (Can), statesman and Prime Minister, was offered a Dukedom of London but declined in order to remain in the House of Commons and to allow his son Randolph a political career; Randolph died only three years after his father, so the dukedom would have had little time to affect his career as he had already been out of the Commons for 10 years)
• Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, KG, PC, FRS, statesman and Prime Minister (in 1880; had previously accepted the Earldom of Beaconsfield)^[6]
• Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne, KG, PC, FRS, statesman (1857)
• Robert Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, KG, GCVO, PC statesman and Prime Minister in 1886^[7] and 1892^{[citation needed]} and possibly in 1901^[8] - citing the prohibitive cost of the lifestyle that dukes were expected to maintain^{[citation needed]}. According to Scribner's Magazine in 1900, "It is true that the Marquis of Salisbury might have been a Duke if he had not regarded his marquisate as a prouder title than a new dukedom could furnish."

^[9]

Marquessate

• Brigadier Sir Alexander Cambridge, GCB, GCVO, CMG, DSO, formerly Prince Alexander of Teck (in 1917 accepted the Earldom of Athlone instead)
• Henry Lascelles, 5th Earl of Harewood, GCVO (in 1922, as he thought marquessates tended to die out more quickly than earldoms)
• John Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer, KG, PC Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland (in the 1890s)

Earldom

• Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, PC outgoing Prime Minister (declined the Earldom of Banbury in 1804 as wished to remain in the Commons; later accepted the viscountcy of Sidmouth)
• R. A. Butler, KG, CH, PC, Conservative politician (in 1964; accepted life peerage as Baron Butler of Saffron Walden in 1965)
• Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon (declined the Earldom of Wiltshire on his death bed in 1596, possibly out of delicacy to his Boleyn family members who had been tragically associated with it)
• Neville Chamberlain, after his retirement as Prime Minister in 1940 (also declined appointment as KG, October 1940)
• Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, PC, statesman (in 1809)
• Anthony Eden, KG, MC, PC (on his retirement as Prime Minister in 1957; later accepted the Earldom of Avon in 1961)
• William Ewart Gladstone, Prime Minister (in 1885)
• William Legge (MP), had also declined a knighthood; his son was created Baron Dartmouth instead
• Harold Macmillan, OM, PC statesman and Prime Minister (in 1963; later accepted the Earldom of Stockton in 1984)
• Sir Angus Ogilvy, KCVO, PC (in 1963 on his marriage to Princess Alexandra of Kent)

Viscountcy

• The Rt. Hon. Charles Booth, disenchanted with politics, declined Gladstone's overtures; made a Privy Councillor by Balfour in 1904
• Benjamin Disraeli, KG, PC, FRS outgoing Prime Minister (in 1868; the title was instead conferred on his wife; he later did accept the Earldom of Beaconsfield)
• Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, KT, GCB, OM, GCVO, KCIE ADC First World War commander, until the Government had made what he felt was sufficient provision for returned Great War veterans (later became the Earl Haig).
• John Henry Whitley, retiring Speaker of the House of Commons (in 1928)

Barony

• Charles Babbage, FRS, scientist
• George Macaulay Booth, Director of the Bank of England, refused Lloyd George's offer.
• Leonard Elmhirst, Philanthropist, agriculturalist and educationist, refused Clement Attlee's offer in 1946 replying "My own work, however, as you know, has lain in the main among country people ... in India, the USA and in Devonshire ... acceptance would neither be easy for me to explain nor easy for my friends to comprehend".^[10]
• Sir Edward Heath preferred to retain his seat as a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons
• Acting Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, GCVO, KCB, DSO (in 1946, as he thought it was too low a grade; accepted the viscountcy of Mountbatten of Burma instead; later accepted the Earldom of Mountbatten of Burma)

Life peerage (barony)

• Sir Isaiah Berlin OM, philosopher (in 1980)^[1]
• John Cleese, actor/comedian (in 1999 - typically humorous, he "did not wish to spend winters in England"; had previously declined appointment as CBE in 1996) ^[11]
• Sir John Major, CH, outgoing Prime Minister (in 2001 as he thought a seat in the Lords was incompatible with retiring from politics; later accepted appointment as KG)^[12]
• Sir Alan Haselhurst MP, upon stepping down from being Chairman of Ways and Means so as to pursue his political career in the House of Commons.

As a part of the House of Lords reform in 1999, several members of the Royal family were offered life peerages, which would have allowed them the right to sit in the House of Lords, but all were declined.^[13] They included:

• HRH The Duke of Edinburgh KG KT OM GBE AC QSO CD PC
• HRH The Prince of Wales
• HRH The Duke of York
• HRH The Earl of Wessex
• HRH The Duke of Kent (in 1999)

Baronetcy

• John Grubb Richardson,^[14] Irish Quaker industrialist, declined due to his firm belief in equality.

Knighthood

• Frank Auerbach, artist (in 2003)^[2]
• Alan Bennett, playwright (in 1996; had previously declined appointment as CBE in 1988)^[1]
• David Bowie, musician (in 2003)^[15]
• Lester Brain, aviator and airline executive (in late 1960s; later accepted appointment as an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1979)^[16]
• Hugh Cudlipp, OBE, editor (in 1966; later accepted a knighthood in 1973 and a life peerage in 1974)^[1]
• Paul Dirac, Nobel Prize winner for physics in 1933, declined a knighthood but accepted the OM in 1973.^[17][18]
• Albert Finney, actor (in 2000, had previously declined appointment as CBE in 1980)^[1]
• E. M. Forster, OM, CH author and essayist (in 1949; later accepted appointment as CH in 1953)^[19]
• Michael Frayn, dramatist (in 2003; had previously declined appointment as CBE in 1989)^[1]
• Keith Hill, Labour MP (declined knighthood proferred in the 2010 Dissolution Honours)^[20]
• David Hockney, CH, RA artist (in 1990; later accepted appointment as CH in 1997)^[1]
• Charles Holden, architect, declined twice, in 1944 and 1951.^[21]
• Trevor Howard, stage/film actor (in 1982)^[1]
• Aldous Huxley, author (in 1959)^[1]
• Richard Lambert, editor of the Financial Times^[2] (although he has since been Knighted)
• Essington Lewis, Australian mining magnate ^[22]
• L. S. Lowry, artist (in 1968; had previously declined appointment as OBE in 1955 and CBE in 1961; later declined appointment as CH in 1972 and 1976; holds the record for the most honours declined)^[1]
• Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum (in 1999); however, in 2010 he accepted appointment to the Order of Merit, which is in the personal gift of the British monarch^[23]
• Frank Pick, chief executive of London Transport (also declined a peerage).^[24]
• William Pember Reeves, New Zealand statesman, declined knighthood three times, including GCMG^[25]
• George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright and critic; also declined OM ^[26]
• Quentin Skinner, historian (in 1996).^[27]

Appointment to the Order of Merit (OM)

• A. E. Housman, poet and classical scholar (in 1929)^[28]
• George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright, critic, and polemicist (in 1946; Shaw replied that "merit" in authorship could only be determined by the posthumous verdict of history).^[26] Shaw had also wanted to decline a Nobel Prize for literature in 1925, but accepted it at his wife's behest as honouring Ireland. He did reject the monetary award, requesting it be used to finance translation of Swedish books to English.^[29]

Appointment as a Companion of Honour (CH)

• Francis Bacon, artist (in 1977; had previously declined appointment as CBE in 1960)^[1]
• Robert Graves, poet and novelist (in 1984; had previously declined appointment as CBE in 1957)^[1]
• L. S. Lowry RA, artist (in 1972 and 1976; had previously declined appointment as OBE in 1955 and CBE in 1961 and a knighthood in 1968; holds the record for the most honours declined)^[1]

Appointment to the Order of the Bath

As Knight Companion

• Admiral George Cranfield Berkeley in 1812, expecting a peerage; he settled for the KB in 1813^[30]

Appointment to the Royal Victorian Order

As a Commander (CVO)

• Craig Murray, former United Kingdom Ambassador to Uzbekistan (had previously declined appointments as LVO and OBE) ^[31]

Appointment to the Order of the British Empire

As a Dame Commander (DBE)

• The Lady Callaghan of Cardiff, campaigner and fundraiser
• Doris Lessing, CH, OBE, author (in 1993; had previously declined appointment as OBE in 1977; later accepted appointment as CH in 2000)^[1]
• Geraldine McEwan, actress (in 2002; had previously declined appointment as OBE in 1986)
• Vanessa Redgrave, CBE, actress (in 1999)^[1]
• Shirley Williams, Baroness Williams of Crosby, PC; as a Social Democrat she declined a DBE, but in 1993 accepted appointment to the House of Lords, where she was a onetime leader of the Liberal Democrats.^{[citation needed]}

As a Commander (CBE)

• Ian Albery, services to drama, CBE^[2]
• Alderman Nick Anstee, former Lord Mayor of London (in 2010)
• Francis Bacon, artist (in 1960; later declined appointment as CH in 1977)
• J. G. Ballard, author (in 2003)^[1]
• Nancy Banks-Smith, television critic (in 1970)^[1]
• Alan Bennett, playwright (in 1988; later declined a knighthood in 1996)
• Honor Blackman, actress (in 2002)^[1]
• David Bowie, musician (in 2000; later declined a knighthood in 2003)^[1]
• Sir Francis Boyd, journalist (in 1967; later accepted a knighthood in 1976)^[1]
• Kenneth Branagh, actor and director (in 1994)
• John Cleese, actor/comedian (in 1996 he reportedly thought it was “silly"; he later declined a life peerage)^[1][11]
• John Cole, journalist (in 1993)^[1]
• Francis Crick, scientist (refused CBE in 1963, refused a knighthood, but later accepted appointment as OM in 1991)
• Bernie Ecclestone, owner of Formula One commercial rights (in 1996)^[1]
• Albert Finney, actor (in 1980; later declined a knighthood in 2000)
• Michael Frayn, FRSL dramatist (in 1989; later declined a knighthood in 2003)
• Lucian Freud, OM, CH artist (in 1977; later accepted appointment as CH in 1983 and OM in 1993)^[1]
• Robert Graves, poet and novelist (in 1957; later declined appointment as CH in 1984)
• Jocelyn Herbert, theatre designer^[2]
• Sir Wally Herbert, polar explorer (later accepted a knighthood)
• Sir Alfred Hitchcock, KBE director (in 1962; later accepted appointment as KBE in 1980)^[1]
• Elgar Howarth, conductor^[2]
• Leon Kossoff, painter^[2]
• John le Carré, author^[why?]
• C. S. Lewis, author, theologian, Oxford professor (in 1951, declined so as to avoid association with any political issues)^[32]
• L. S. Lowry, artist (in 1961; had previously declined appointment as OBE in 1955; later declined a knighthood in 1968 and appointment as CH in 1972 and 1976; holds the record for the most honours declined)^[1]
• Malcolm McDowell, actor (declined CBE in 1984; declined a knighthood in 1995)^{[citation needed]}
• Geraldine McEwan, actress^[2]
• George Melly, musician, artist and raconteur (in 2001)^[1]
• Dame Helen Mirren, DBE, actress (in 1996; later accepted appointment as DBE in 2003)^[1]
• Sir V. S. Naipaul, author (in 1977; later accepted a knighthood in 1990)^[1]
• Gareth Peirce, solicitor^[33] (gazetted CBE in 1999, but later she returned its insignia, blaming herself and apologizing to then P.M. Tony Blair for the misunderstanding)
• Cedric Price, architect^[2]
• Keith Richards, guitarist (The Rolling Stones)^[when?]
• Robert Simpson, composer^[when?]
• Savenaca Siwatibau, Fijian academic^[when?]
• Claire Tomalin, writer^[2]
• Polly Toynbee, columnist (in 2000)^[1]
• Leslie Waddington, gallery chairman^[2]
• Evelyn Waugh, novelist (in 1959)^[1]
• Paul Weller, musician (in 2007)
• Garfield Weston, businessman^[2]

As an Officer (OBE)

• Peter Alliss, golfer and commentator (in 2002)^[1]</ref>
• Jim Broadbent, actor (in 2002)^[1]
• Roald Dahl, author (in 1986)^[1]
• Dawn French, comedienne (in 2001 together with Jennifer Saunders)^[2]
• Graham Greene, OM, CH author (in 1956; later accepted appointment as CH in 1966 and OM in 1986)^[1]
• Laurence Harbottle, services to theatre^[2]
• Hamish Henderson, poet and folklorist (in 1983 as protest against the Thatcher government's nuclear policies ^[2])
• Lenny Henry, comedian (later accepted appointment as CBE)
• Hattie Jacques, actress and comedienne (in the 1970s)^[why?]
• Jonathan Kent, theatre director^[2]
• Philip Larkin, CH, CBE, FRSL poet (in 1968 on the grounds that he deserved a higher honour^{[citation needed]}; later accepted appointment as CBE in 1975 and CH in 1985)
• Nigella Lawson, chef; cookery writer^[2]
• Doris Lessing, CH, OBE author (in 1977; later declined appointment as DBE in 1993; later accepted appointment as CH in 2000)
• Ken Loach, director (in 1977)
• L. S. Lowry, artist (in 1955; later declined appointment as CBE in 1961, a knighthood in 1968 and appointment as CH in 1972 and 1976; holds the record for the most honours declined)^[1]
• John McCormick, controller BBC Scotland^[2]
• Ian McDiarmid, actor, theatre director^[2]
• Geraldine McEwan, actress (in 1986; later declined appointment as DBE in 2002)
• Hank Marvin, guitarist (The Shadows)^[why?]
• Doreen Massey,Professor of Geography
• Alan Mattingly, Ramblers' Association^[2]
• Stanley Middleton, FRSL author, 1979
• Craig Murray, former United Kingdom Ambassador to Uzbekistan (had previously declined appointment as LVO; later declined appointment as CVO)
• Max Newman, mathematician and wartime codebreaker (in 1946 as protest against the inadequacy of Alan Turing's OBE) ^[34]
• V. M. Sabherwall, Birmingham industrialist^[when?]
• Jennifer Saunders, comedienne (in 2001, together with Dawn French)
• Jon Snow, newscaster (after having declined, investigated and presented a Channel 4 documentary, Secrets of the Honours System^[35])
• Grace Williams, composer^[when?]
• Michael Winner, director (in 2006, saying, "An OBE is what you get if you clean the toilets well at King's Cross station."^[36])
• Benjamin Zephaniah, poet, who said: "I get angry when I hear the word 'empire'; it reminds me of slavery, it reminds me of thousands of years of brutality, it reminds me of how my foremothers were raped and my forefathers brutalised."^[37]

As a Member (MBE)

• Major Derek Allhusen, CVO, Olympic equestrian gold-medallist (declined MBE in 1968)^[why?]
• Leonard Barden, British chess champion (declined MBE in 1954)^[why?]
• Patrick Collins, sports writer who declined MBE ^{[2][when?][why?]}
• Joseph Corré, co-founder of Agent Provocateur (declined MBE in 2007^[38])^[why?]
• Emer Rose Crangle, declined MBE for aid work (in 1999)^[why?]
• John Dunn, broadcaster who declined MBE^{[2][when?][why?]}
• Marjorie Hebden, declined MBE for services to the Malvern Museum^{[2][when?][why?]}
• David Heckels, refused MBE for charitable services to the arts^{[2][when?][why?]}
• Anish Kapoor, CBE, sculptor who declined MBE in 1998, but accepted a CBE in 2003^[2]
• Gwendoline Laxon, declined MBE for services to charity^{[2][when?][why?]}
• Susan Loppert, art historian, declined MBE^{[2][when?][why?]}
• Barry McGuigan, MBE boxer (in 1986; later accepted same appointment in 1994)^[1]
• John Pandit, musician who declined MBE ^{[2][when?][why?]}
• Weeratunge Edward Perera, MBE social entrepreneur in British Malaya (after World War II; later accepted same appointment in 1953)^{[citation needed][when?][why?]}
• Doris Purnell, declined MBE for services to drama^{[2][when?][why?]}
• John Sales, head gardener, declined MBE^{[2][when?][why?]}
• Joan Smith, journalist, declined MBE^{[when?][why?]}
• Rachel Whiteread, CBE artist (declined MBE in 1997; later accepted appointment as CBE in 2006)^[1]

Renouncing an honour

As no official provision exists for renouncing an honour, any such act is always unofficial, and the record of the appointment in the London Gazette stands.^{[citation needed]} However, the physical insignia can be returned to the Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood — though even this act is purely symbolic, as replacement insignia may be purchased for a nominal sum. Any recipient can also request that the honour not be used officially, e.g. Donald Tsang, Chief Executive of Hong Kong, was knighted in 1997 but has not used the title since the handover to China.^{[citation needed]}

Those who have returned insignia include:

• Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, journalist (returned MBE insignia in 2003 in "a growing spirit of republicanism and partly in protest at the Labour government, particularly its conduct of the war in Iraq")
• Roy Bailey, folk singer (returned MBE insignia in August 2006 in protest at the British Government's foreign policy in Lebanon and Palestine)
• Carla Lane, television writer (appointed OBE in 1989; returned insignia in 2002 in protest at the appointment of CBE of the managing director of Huntingdon Life Sciences because of the company's testing on animals)
• John Lennon, musician (returned MBE insignia in 1969; returned with letter that read, "I am returning this MBE in protest against Britain's involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam, and against Cold Turkey slipping down the charts.")
• Gareth Peirce, solicitor (gazetted CBE in 1999, but later she returned its insignia, blaming herself and apologizing to then Prime Minister Tony Blair for the misunderstanding)
• Susan Wighton, AIDS worker (returned MBE insignia in 2006 in protest at the British Government's foreign policy in the Middle East)

Knights who have "renounced" their knighthoods include:

• Maharajkumar of Vizianagram, cricketer (knighted in 1936; renounced knighthood in 1947 upon India's independence)
• Rabindranath Tagore, author and poet and Nobel Prize Winner in Literature, 1913 (knighted in 1915; renounced knighthood in 1919 to protest the Jallianwala Bagh massacre)
• C. P. Ramaswami Iyer, lawyer, parliamentarian and administrator (knighted in 1926 with the KCIE and again in 1939 with the KCSI; renounced both knighthoods in 1948 following Indian independence)
• Khwaja Nazimuddin, nobleman, administrator and politician who served as the Governor-General of Pakistan from 1948 to 1951 and as the Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1951 to 1953 (knighted in 1934 with the KCIE; renounced knighthood in 1946 due to his personal belief in independence from Britain)

Declining a baronetcy

Many offers of baronetcies have been declined from their inception, as this honour was one way until recent times for the Crown to raise money from landed gentry families. When a baronetcy becomes vacant on the death of a holder, the heir may choose not to register the proofs of succession, effectively declining the honour. The Official Roll of Baronets is kept at the Home Office by the Registrar of the Baronetage. Anyone who considers that he is entitled to be entered on the Roll may petition the Crown through the Home Secretary. Anyone succeeding to a baronetcy therefore must exhibit proofs of succession to the Home Secretary. A person who is not entered on the Roll will not be addressed or mentioned as a baronet or accorded precedence as a baronet. The baronetcy can be revived at any time on provision of acceptable proofs of succession, by, say, the son of a son who has declined to register the proofs of succession.^[39] About 83 baronetcies are currently listed as awaiting proofs of succession. Notable "refuseniks" include (Sir) Jonathon Porritt, lately of Friends of the Earth and (Sir) Ferdinand Mount, the journalist.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am} "Some who turned the offer down". London: The Guardian. 22 December 2003. http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2003/dec/22/uk.Whitehall1. )
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac} Harvey McGavin (22 December 2003). "Honoured? No thanks, say elite of arts and TV". London: The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/honoured--no-thanks-say-elite-of-arts-and-tv-577460.html. 
3. ^ Singh, Anita (2010-12-31). "Lady Antonia Fraser leads New Year Honours 2011 list". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/honours-list/8232095/Lady-Antonia-Fraser-leads-New-Year-Honours-2011-list.html. 
4. ^ Katz, Liane (2003-12-22). "MPs to investigate 'secretive' honours system". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2003/dec/22/Whitehall.health. 
5. ^ Roots, Ivan (1989). Speeches of Oliver Cromwell. Everyman's Classics. London: Dent. p. 128. ISBN 0460012541. 
6. ^ Biography of Benjamin Diraeli at the National Portrait Gallery
7. ^ Queen Victoria, a Biographical Companion, page 330
8. ^ "Dukedom for Salisbury Expected". New York: The New York Times. 3 September 1901. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9807E7DE153DE433A25750C0A96F9C946097D6CF. 
9. ^ [1]Scribner's Magazine 28: 124. 1900. 
10. ^ Young, Michael (1982). The Elmhirsts of Dartington: the Creation of an Utopian Community. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 344. ISBN 0071009051. 
11. ^ ^{a b} Nikkhah, Roya (17 April 2011). "Lord Cleese of Fawlty Towers: Why John Cleese declined a peerage". Sunday Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/8455538/Lord-Cleese-of-Fawlty-Towers-Why-John-Cleese-declined-a-peerage.html. Retrieved 17 April 2011. 
12. ^ Major to turn down Peerage
13. ^ Brown, Colin; Schaefer, Sarah (1999-11-03). "Fury over Blair offer of life peerages to Royals". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/news/fury-over-blair-offer-of-life-peerages-to-royals-1122057.html. Retrieved 21 October 2011. 
14. ^ Richardsons in Scotland and Ireland
15. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6230201.stm
16. ^ Cadigan, Neil (2008). A Man Among Mavericks – Lester Brain: Australia's Greatest Aviator. Sydney: ABC Books. pp. 211–212. ISBN 0733320961. 
17. ^ Mckie, Robin (1 February 2009). "Anti-matter and madness". London: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/feb/01/strangest-man-paul-dirac-review. Retrieved 2011-10-21. 
18. ^ O'Connor, J J; Robertson, E F. "Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac". http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Dirac.html. Retrieved 2011-10-21. 
19. ^ David Bradshaw, ed (2007). "Chronology". The Cambridge Companion to E. M. Forster. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-83475-9. http://assets.cambridge.org/97805218/34759/frontmatter/9780521834759_frontmatter.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-27. 
20. ^ "Former MP turns down knighthood". London: Streatham Guardian. 18 June 2010. http://www.streathamguardian.co.uk/news/8228235.Former_MP_turns_down_knighthood. Retrieved 201-10-21. 
21. ^ Blacker, Zöe (8 January 2004). "Architecture gains two honours". Architects' Journal. http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/home/architecture-gains-two-honours/136791.article. Retrieved 18 September 2010. 
22. ^ "Lewis, Essington (1881 - 1961) Biographical Entry - Australian Dictionary of Biography Online". Adbonline.anu.edu.au. http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A100084b.htm. Retrieved 2010-09-14. 
23. ^ Buckingham Palace. "Mr Neil MacGregor appointed to the Order of Merit, 4 November 2010". The Royal Household. http://www.royal.gov.uk/LatestNewsandDiary/Pressreleases/2010/MrNeilMacGregorappointedtotheOrderofMerit4November.aspx. Retrieved 4 November 2010. 
24. ^ "Frank Pick". Design Museum. http://designmuseum.org/design/frank-pick. Retrieved 30 April 2011. 
25. ^ New Zealand Dictionary of National Biography
26. ^ ^{a b} Martin, Stanley (2007). "George Bernard Shaw". The Order of Merit: one hundred years of matchless honour. London: Taurus. p. 484. ISBN 9781860648489. 
27. ^ Inglis, Fred (14 May 2009). "Bringing off the miracle of resurrection". Times Higher Education Supplement. London. http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=406549. Retrieved 30 August 2011. 
28. ^ Biography of Housman, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
29. ^ Gibbs, A. M. (2005). Bernard Shaw: A Life (pp. 375–376). Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida. pp. 554. ISBN 0-8130-2859-0. http://www.upf.com. 
30. ^ "Berkeley, Hon. George Cranfield (1753-1818)" Retrieved 2011-10-21
31. ^ Craig Murray, "On Being Hurt" Retrieved 2011-10-21
32. ^ C.S., Lewis (1994). W. H. Lewis, Walter Hooper. ed. Letters of C.S. Lewis. New York: Mariner Books. pp. 528. ISBN 0156508710. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0156508710/heroesofhistory. "Churchill offered Lewis the investiture following the Conservative Party’s return to power in 1951." 
33. ^ Andrew Alderson and Nina Goswami (2005-08-05). "When Sir Ian heard who the lawyer was, it is likely he let out a long, hard sigh". The Sunday Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1496625/When-Sir-Ian-heard-who-the-lawyer-was-it-is-likely-he-let-out-a-long-hard-sigh.html. Retrieved 2011-07-07. 
34. ^ William Newman, "Max Newman – Mathematician, Codebreaker and Computer Pioneer", p. 177 from pp. 176-188 in B. Jack Copeland, ed., Colossus: The Secrets of Bletchley Park's Codebreaking Computers, Oxford University Press, 2006
35. ^ Banks-Smith, Nancy. "Reputations: Frankie Howerd". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/critic/feature/0,1169,1161366,00.html. Retrieved 2010-05-01. 
36. ^ "Winner shuns 'toilet-cleaner OBE'". BBC News. 2006-05-28. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5024336.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-01. 
37. ^ Demetriou, Danielle (2003-11-27). "Benjamin Zephaniah declines an OBE in protest against colonialism". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/benjamin-zephaniah-declines-an-obe-in-protest-against-colonialism-737107.html. Retrieved 2010-05-01. 
38. ^ "Lingerie firm founder rejects MBE", BBC News, 20 June 2007
39. ^ Whitaker's Almanac, 2005, p. 83, et seq.