Merit where it's due – the New Year's Honours

They will join a whole host of big names from stage and screen when they head off to Buckingham Palace to collect their awards later this year

Robin Saxby, the executive chairman of ARM Holdings was appointed a Knight Bachelor for services to the information technology industry.

Mr Saxby, 54, of Wooburn Common, decided to develop his career in electronics after repairing videos and televisions for pocket money as a youngster. His first job after university was designing colour TV receivers.

He was one of the founders of ARM Holdings, which was set up at the end of 1990. He has a team of 12 engineers who do innovative research and developments in electronic technology.

He said of the award: "It is a shock but a nice shock, and very unreal. I am just a very ordinary person who has followed his hobby and made it into a career. It is pleasing that the engineers have been recognised and it is a credit to the whole ARM team."

Jenni Thomas, who founded the West Wycombe-based Child Bereavement Trust in 1994 after working as a nurse for almost 30 years, has been honoured with an OBE.

Mrs Thomas, of Cookham, said she was 'thrilled and very humbled' to receive the award.

The trust deals with at least 50 referrals a year of people whose children have died.

She said: "It is such a devastating thing to lose a child and it has always been a great privilege to help. I have got a wonderful job.

"When I was a nurse at the Special Baby Care Unit at Wycombe Hospital I met lots of families and they would come back and say how terrible the grief was."

She later became a trained counsellor at the hospital and then founded the Child Bereavement Trust.

She said: "I feel this award should be going to the families, not to me. I couldn't believe it when I opened the paper and saw my name. It was wonderful news."

Christine Lavery was awarded an MBE for services to the Society for Mucopolysaccharide Diseases.

Mrs Lavery, 50, of Chessfield Park, Little Chalfont, is the chief executive and set up the society which helps families and those affected with rare genetic diseases which cause physical and mental deterioration.

She started the charity, based in Woodside Road, Amersham, after her son Simon, who was diagnosed with Hunter disease in 1976, died suddenly.

From the Amersham office the society provides a nationwide face-to-face support service and has funded £1.5 million of research into the diseases.

She said: "When we founded it there was just nothing. On a personal level I feel deeply honoured but I am pleased they recognised the charity. It was a lovely surprise."

Tom Boyd was awarded an OBE for his services to rural development in Africa.

Mr Boyd, 60, of Fern Lane, Haddenham, retired in June last year having spent more than 30 years planning Africa's agricultural economy and development, and helping their rural economy.

For the past 15 years he was a director of the consultancy firm known as HTS Development, and also known as Hunting Technical Services.

He said: "I have seen a huge change and I am a part of that in a small way. A lot of people have helped."

Although he has retired he says he will be happy to continue with his planning consultancy work.

Di Rainbow has been recognised for her charitable service as founder of Young Deaf Activities with an MBE.

Mrs Rainbow, of Monkton Way, Speen, was rewarded after setting up the charity in 1994 for profoundly deaf children. She realised as a social worker for the deaf, that the children were isolated as many of their family members cannot use sign language. Also they cannot make friends with neighbours as they cannot communicate.

The charity helps the families by sending signers to teach them to communicate and have also set up a youth club which is held every two weeks at the Roundhouse in High Wycombe. There is also a magazine printed, which the children help to write.

Mrs Rainbow said she is thrilled about the award as she has seen a huge improvement in the children.

She said: "I immediately saw the opening up of their confidence and their ability to mix. The award is also for everybody who supports it but mostly for the children."

John Dring has been recognised for his charitable service with an OBE.

Mr Dring, of Chinnor, is trustee of the charity Kids VIP which arranges childcare in prison visiting centres and tries to establish play areas.

He said: "Kids VIP is a national charity set up to provide supervised play areas in prison.

"The idea is that the relationship between the prisoner and the visitor can be badly affected by kids running around in the visiting room.

"It also tries to minimise the damage done of the father, or sometimes the mother, going to prison in the first place."

He said his family was delighted with the award and added: "They are all thrilled."

Peter McLoughlin was awarded an OBE for his services to the aerospace industry.

Mr McLoughlin, 60, of Clifton Road, Chesham Bois, was the director of Government Affairs until his retirement in July.

He worked as a civil servant in the Ministry of Defence and among postings was a two year appointment to the directing staff of the National Defence College at Latimer.

He was seconded to the Diplomatic Service between 1975 and 1979 serving as Aviation First Secretary in the Paris Embassy where he was involved in the Concorde programme.

Mr McLoughlin was appointed Government Relations Director for British Aerospace in 1994 and promoted to the role of managing director for UK Business and Government Relations until he retired.

Over the past decade he has been involved with all the UK's major aerospace programmes.

The father-of-three said: "I was very, very honoured and it is an honour for the industry."

Local farmer Andrew Ingram is rewarded with an MBE for his work with Henley and District Agricultural Association.

He has been chairman of the branch for ten years and only stepped down this year.

After a difficult year for farmers, Mr Ingram was overjoyed to receive the award.

"It goes without saying that I am extremely proud. This award is not for me but for the association and all the work that they do," he said.

"It is for the work that they have done raising money for charity and for educating people about farming.

"When I got the letter, I really did think that it was some of my friends winding me up but then I thought, no, not even they could get their hands on Downing Street headed notepaper."

Mr Ingram, of Christmas Common, Watlington, who is married with two children, said he was already planning to take his wife and two daughters to the palace.

Richard Meads was awarded an MBE for his services to public transport.

Mr Meads, 56, of Botley Road, Chesham, is a business planning and performance manager for Transport for London.

He has been working there for 35 years, doing a whole range of jobs including looking after major projects and implementing business plans and budgets.

Mr Meads, who is a father-of-two, said he has never learnt to drive and has always used public transport.

He said: "I have very much enjoyed it over the years and I managed to do different jobs and move on from one to another.

"It was quite a shock and I was very honoured indeed."

Roger Dalley, of Marlow, deputy director general for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which is based in Maidenhead, was awarded a CBE.