A knighthood for Ferranti Plc managing director Derek Alun-Jones for services to export headlines the New Year Honours to the computer and electronics sector: he was drafted in to strengthen Ferranti’s management after the company had to be rescued by the government in the mid-1970s after its bankers (who had troubles of their own at the time), rather arbitrarily pulled the plug. Also created a knight is the highly-regarded Robin Duthie CBE, chairman of the Scottish Development Agency. CBEs go to Joseph Crough, lately marketing director at Cable & Wireless Plc; and to Professor Michael Hampshire, chairman of the electronic and electrical engineering department at Salford University; there are OBEs for Peter Allington, electronics systems operations director, British Aerospace Plc; Roger Graham, managing director of BIS Group, on its way to Nynex; and John Massey, chairman of Sigmex International Plc; and MBEs go to Jonathan Clark, managing director of London Car Telephones Ltd; Miss Sheila Hunter, senior personal secretary at British Telecommunications Plc; and to Roland Turner, chief engineer, Marconi Space Systems Ltd. Warm congratulations to all those newly-honoured.
