A Stonley woman at the centre of raising more than £500,000 for charity has been named in the Queen’s New Year Honours list.

Rosemary Gutteridge joins Marcus Setchell, the Hemingford Abbots doctor who helped deliver the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s baby Prince George, and Cambridgeshire Chief Constable Simon Parr among those to be honoured.

Mrs Gutteridge, 66, has been awarded the Member of the British Empire (MBE) for voluntary and charitable service to the British Red Cross Society.

She started with the charity 27 years ago and for the past 17 years has been the chairman of the Red Cross Cambridge Appeals Committee.

Mrs Gutteridge, president of the Cambridgeshire Red Cross Society, told The Hunts Post: “I received a letter from the Cabinet Office three weeks ago informing me of the honour. It is a huge honour. I only told my husband and have had to keep it a secret since.

“I was shocked and didn’t believe it until I saw it in print. I don’t know who has nominated me or why – it’s still a mystery. I see it as a recognition of all the wonderful work of the hard-working Red Cross volunteers in Cambridgeshire. It is a real team effort.”

Mrs Gutteridge is looking forward to her trip to Buckingham Palace to collect her MBE but she has met the Queen before, having previously been presented to the monarch at the Burleigh House Jubilee Picnic in 2012.

Mr Setchell, 70, the Queen’s gynaecologist from 1997, was asked to postpone his retirement to deliver Prince George in July. He has been made a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.

Mr Parr, who joined Cambridgeshire police in September 2010, has been given the Queen’s Police Medal.

He said: “I was both proud and very surprised when I learnt of this honour. Recognition of this kind is not what we work for in policing, which makes it all the more exciting when it comes. It is also a great reflection on the constabulary, and all the selfless work that colleagues do each and every day.

“I would also like to say a huge thank you to my family, who have supported me for so long.”