Chiswick people among those honoured in King’s birthday list

Jack Emsley; Barbara Chandler

Design journalist Barbara Chandler and Councillor Jack Emsley awarded honours

Two Chiswick people have been awarded honours in the King’s birthday honours list.

Barbara Chandler, design journalist, photographer and founder of Green Grads, has been awarded Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to the design industry.

Jack Emsley, Councillor representing Chiswick Homefields ward, and Leader of the Conservative Group on Hounslow Council, has been awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for public service.

Ring Ring Turnham Green 2010 by Barbara Chandler

Strand on the Green 2016 by Barbara Chandler

Sunflowers Turnham Green 2017 by Barbara Chandler

Chiswick House 2017 by Barbara Chandler

‘Ring Ring’ Turnham Green 2020; Strand on the Green 2016; Sunflowers on Turnham Green 2017; Chiswick House 2017; photographs by Barbara Chandler

Barbara Chandler MBE – photography exhibitions worldwide

Barbara worked for many years as a journalist on the Evening Standard. As a photographer she has exhibited widely in London, including in The Chiswick Calendar’s art and photography exhibitions.

Her prints and extensive handmade photo cards have sold in London, New York, Paris, Milan, Warsaw and Tokyo. Her show Love London was on Regent Street in 2008, followed by a Love London book of 180 photographs in 2011.

In recent years she has turned her attention to setting up the Green Grad scheme which celebrates recent graduates of UK universities ‘with ideas to heal the planet’.

Greed Grads puts on shows, hosts a website with showcasing the work of the graduates with their biographies, it runs a YouTube channel, and ‘Green Days’ for knowledge-sharing and networking in this field.

greengrads.co.uk

Two of the earliest Green Grads – Jacob Marks 2022; Claudette Forbes Morley 2020

Green Grads

Barbara talked to The Chiswick Calendar four years ago about how Green Grads came about as a result of Covid.

New Designers graduate exhibitions could not be held in 2020 or 2021 because of Covid, so Barbara, “double jabbed” decided she would go to the graduates instead.

“I decided to go out into England to see as may graduates as I could. I went to Plymouth, Manchester, Brighton, Kingston, Stoke, Leicester and Loughborough and lots of shows around London which mainly the graduates organised themselves.

“I saw so much brilliant work I thought I would try and see if I could organise as show for them in London called GREAT GRADS. As the result of a collaboration this has evolved into GREEN GRADS, who have had one exhibition already and are planning on showing their work again, focused on sustainability, in September.

READ ALSO: Exhibition of portraits by Chiswick photo-journalist Barbara Chandler at New Designers show

Barbara has lived in west London all her adult life. She moved back to Chiswick in 1999, where she previously lived in the 60s and 70s.

Jack Emsley BEM – staying on top of casework and keeping the Conservative Opposition together

Jack has been a Chiswick councillor since 2022. For the first four years he represented Chiswick Homefields alongside veteran councillors John Todd and Gerald McGregor, who both retired at the last election.

Jack is a popular councillor with a strong record of sorting out casework. He was re-elected last month with an increased majority alongside Linden Grigg, a new councillor, and Michael Denniss, who has previously represented Chiswick Riverside for the Conservatives.

Having been the chief whip for the Conservative Group, when the Group’s leader Peter Thompson lost his seat in Chiswick Riverside to Green party candidate Rick Rowe, Jack was unanimously elected as the new Leader.

“This has come as a complete surprise”, Jack told The Chiswick Calendar. “I’m just doing what I’ve been elected to do. I don’t regard it as a job or a task, I love it”.

He told us he did not know who had nominated him but he was thrilled when he was told about it during the local election campaign, all the more so because his mum died a couple of weeks ago and he was able to share the news with her before she died.

“I only told my mum and Caroline [Jack’s wife]. It’s been really hard keeping it a secret for six weeks”.

These are the two Chiswick people we know of who have been awarded honours. They may be more. If you have been honoured in the King’s birthday honours list and you live in Chiswick, or you know someone who has, please let us know. Their omission is not deliberate. Email: info@thechiswickcalendar.co.uk.