TWO more Jamaicans — The Rt Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Bishop of Dover, and Paulette Bolton, a nurse who left school at age nine to care for her dying grandmother and eventually earned three degrees — have been appointed Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBEs) in The Queen’s 2020 New Year Honours List.

They both join Jamaican Yvonne Grant, director of Open Arms Development Centre, whose story was published in yesterday’s Jamaica Observer.

Bishop Hudson-Wilkin, who was born and raised in Montego Bay in 1961, travelled to the United Kingdom (UK) in 1982 to train at Church Army College in the West Midlands, following which she was ordained deacon in 1991 and ordained to the priesthood in 1994.

In 2007 she was appointed chaplain to The Queen and in 2010 became the first female to be appointed chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons.

The citation announcing her elevation to the MBE states: “Everywhere she has gone, she has broken down barriers and made history. She has campaigned relentlessly for equality for women in the church, which paved the way for others.

“She has been one of the most influential and effective ministers in the public sphere through her long service as chaplain to the speaker of the House of Commons. She previously served as a member of the General Synod of the Church of England and also as one of the panel chairs of the synod.”

Hudson-Wilkin , who was consecrated as bishop of Dover in November, is the first black woman to hold the post.

Paulette Bolton, who now lives in Sutton Coldfield, left Jamaica for the UK when she was 15 years old and taught herself to read and write using English dictionaries.

A report on the BBC News website said 68-year-old Bolton has been recognised for services to patient care.

Expressing surprise at the award, Bolton is reported by the BBC as saying that she had been raised from a baby by her mother and grandmother, Matilda Scarlett, who she described as “my whole world”.

Said the BBC report: “She cared for her grandmother after she suffered a stroke and, following her death, came to the UK to live with her father.”

“I had not had much schooling. It was very hard really,” the BBC quoted Bolton. “There was racism, children weren’t used to a black person in the classroom, and at home as well it was difficult. But sometimes these things make you stronger in what you want to do.”

The BBC report said Bolton began training as a cadet nurse at age 17 and has since earned degrees from the universities of Wolverhampton, Birmingham, and Sheffield.

She also trained as a midwife, health visitor and mental health nurse while raising her two children as a single parent.

“She later became the first Afro-Caribbean nurse to be appointed as a nurse representative on the board of the Ladywood Primary Care Group,” the BBC report said.

In addition, she became one of the first qualified nurse practitioners, and nurse prescribers, in Birmingham and has campaigned for improved treatment for people with drug addictions, homeless people and those with mental health issues.

The BBC report said that Bolton still works full-time at Enki Medical Practice, which she helped grow from 200 patients to more than 5,000, and said she still loved her work.

“Our patients are brilliant and I think, when I do these things, my grandma inspired me.”

Bolton, Hudson-Wilkin and Grant are among 397 recipients of the MBE, which is one of five classes of appointment to the Order of the British Empire. It is awarded for notable contribution to the arts and sciences, charitable or welfare organisations, or to public service.