Former Commissioner of Police Derek Byrne and midwife Susan Doak are being awarded accolades in the King’s Birthday Honours list this year.
Governor Jane Owen announced the new award recipients in a statement issued on Friday, 14 June.
“I am delighted to announce that two members of our community have been awarded honours by His Majesty the King in the Birthday Honours list for outstanding services to the Cayman Islands,” she said.
Doak, known to many as ‘Nurse Sue’, retired last month after 45 years of service at the Health Services Authority Maternity Unit. She is being made a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her services to midwifery in the Cayman Islands.
Byrne, who was Cayman’s police commissioner between 2016 and 2023, is being awarded a King’s Police Medal for services to policing in the Cayman Islands and in support of other British Overseas Territories.
“I send my warmest congratulations to both,” the governor said.
King Charles III celebrates his official birthday on Saturday, 15 June. The occasion will be marked here in Cayman with a parade and a garden party at the governor’s residence on Seven Mile Beach.
At the parade ceremony, which begins at 8am on West Bay Road outside Government House, awards will be given to individuals who have been included in previously announced honours lists.
These include former George Town Primary School principal Marie Martin and retired civil servant James Watler, who will receive their MBEs; director of the Red Cross Cayman Islands Jondo Obi, who will receive her British Empire Medal (BEM), and Deputy Postmaster General Melissa Martinez-Ebanks, who received her Certificate and Badge of Honour at an earlier event.
The annual garden party to celebrate the British monarch’s birthday will be held on the lawn of Government House from 5:30pm and is open to the public. Organisers say the dress code is “garden elegance” – no flip flops, shorts or swimwear allowed.
The King’s Birthday Honours list recognises the achievements and services of people across the UK and its overseas territories from all walks of life.
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