Dr Stephen Battersby collects MBE

He was accompanied by his wife Cynthia, his elder son Richard and Richard’s fiancá©e Sarah Heath. Commenting on the ceremony, Stephen said: “Her Majesty asked about what I did in environmental health and was most interested in my research work on rats as a reservoir of infections and the risks to public health. I was so concerned about getting the protocol right and not falling over my own feet, it is hard to remember the whole conversation and I probably burbled! I was towards the end of the session when about 70 people had received their MBEs so had been waiting quite a while. This gave me an opportunity to chat with a number of other nervous people, including Lizzy Yarnold, who won the skeleton bob Gold Medal at this year’s Winter Olympics.”

Stephen has had an illustrious career in the CIEH. He was assistant secretary from 1980 to 1988 during which time he worked closely with Bill Randall in establishing the EHN magazine. He was also involved in campaigns to improve areas of environmental health and housing legislation. He was instrumental in the transfer of private sewers to the water and sewerage companies. He has been chair of the CIEH Council served as president from 2008 to 2011. When holding these posts, he initiated significant change; firstly by reducing the size of the Council and then through a review of its governance. He was invited to be a vice president in 2013.

 Dr Stephen Battersby, MBE

He is also a past chair of the CIEH National Pest Advisory Panel and acted as secretary to the CIEH Commission on Housing Renewal and Public Health. He is the current editor of Clay’s Handbook of Environmental Health and is one of the team at Warwick University that developed the Housing Health and Safety Rating System. Over the past 25 years he has been involved in a number of housing research projects for Government and continues to provide training courses on housing law for Shelter and other organisations. He also currently chairs the board of Generation Rent (the National Private Tenants Organisation).

His work at the Robens Centre for Public and Environmental Health at Surrey University is largely down to his interest in rodents as reservoirs of infection. He has recently completed a chapter for a forthcoming publication on rodents as carriers of disease and was lead author for the commensal rodents chapter in WHO publication Public Health Significance of Urban Pests.

CIEH chief executive, Graham Jukes, said: “Stephen’s appointment as MBE is richly deserved and hugely welcomed by the whole environmental health community. Throughout his career he has been at the forefront of so many changes that have affected the work of the profession and the CIEH and his award is rightful recognition of his dedication and support.”

This has been a remarkable year for those working in environmental health with Graham Jukes appointed OBE and MBEs for EHOs Jenny Morris, Major James Fawcett and Rachel Starling.