Rev Tim Alban Jones: "Doing my job"

The vicar who played a pivotal role as Soham mourned schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman said he accepted his New Year honour on behalf of the work of all clergy.

The Reverend Tim Alban Jones, Vicar of St Andrew's Church, Soham, Cambridgeshire, became a high-profile figure when the 10-year-old best friends disappeared.

He said being made an MBE had taken him completely by surprise.

"I was just doing my job, and it seems extraordinary to have it rewarded in such a public way," Mr Alban Jones said.

"It is a recognition of the work the Church of England does, that all the clergy are doing throughout the church.

"I don't think I have done anything particularly special.

"It is in recognition of the work of parish priests throughout the country day in and day out.

"I'm accepting I'm being given it on behalf of everyone else."

The girls vanished in early August and their bodies were found two weeks later.

World's media

At the same time as supporting his parishioners and the grieving town, Mr Alban Jones, 38, gave interviews to journalists from around the world.

"In some ways it seemed unreal, and it was almost as though it was happening to someone else.

"You were having to deal with the intensity of emotions, not only the emotions of the families but in the town and of the public at large."

Mr Alban Jones said the events had a heavy impact on his wife Cathy, a nurse, and their young children Miles, eight, Eleanor, six, and three-year-old Hugh.

He said: "It was extraordinarily stressful for my whole family and I would not have been able to carry on without the support of my family - my wife was exceptionally helpful and supportive."

Soham's church became a focus for national grief

"I am still seeing the families of the girls very regularly," he said.

Ian Huntley, a former caretaker at Soham Village College, is accused of murdering the girls and conspiring to pervert the course of justice.

Maxine Carr, a former teaching assistant in the girls' class, is accused of perverting the course of justice.

Other people across the county honoured in the New Year list:

Knights Bachelor
Professor Alan Roy Fersht, FRS, of Cambridge, Herchel Smith Professor, University of Cambridge, for services to protein science. Royal Victorian Order
CVO
James Gee Pascoe Crowden, JP, formerly Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire.
Order of the British Empire
CBE
Malcolm Grant, of Cambridge, lately chairman, Local Government Commission for England, for services to planning law and local government.
Colin Ayton Greenhalgh, OBE, DL, of Cambridge, lately principal, Hills Road Sixth Form College, Cambridge, for services to further education.
Professor Michael John Gregory, of Cambridge, Head, Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge, for services to industry and business.
Professor Colin John Humphreys, of Cambridge, Goldsmiths Professor of Material Science, University of Cambridge, for services to science as a researcher and communicator.
Professor John Tiley, of Cambridge, Professor, Law of Taxation, University of Cambridge, for services to tax law.
OBE
Mrs Leonora Antoinette Beardon, of Cambridge, senior teaching and research associate, Cambridge University School of Education, for services to mathematical education.
MBE
George Granville Aaron, of Peterborough, Nimrod Integrated Project Team Member, Turner Charles Agency, for services to the defence industry.
Frederick Noel Boyne, of Cambridge, head porter, Robinson College, Cambridge, for services to higher education.
Mrs Daphne Gillian Brown, of Peterborough, contact co-ordinator, Cambridgeshire Constabulary, for services to the police.
Ms Joan Mason, of Cambridge, founding chair, Association for Women in Science and Engineering, for services to women in science.
Ms Annette Jane Walker, of Burwell, managing director, Opportunity Links, Cambridgeshire, for services to childcare.
Mrs Patricia Ann Warwick, of Peterborough, voluntary cycle instructor, for services to road safety.
Roy Webster, of Eaton Ford, director general's staff officer, HM Prison Service Headquarters, Home Office.