Michael Eke worked as a Stores Manager for the police in March, Cambridgeshire. In his spare time he was a leading light in the Air Training Corps, and in 2003 the RAF website carried the following report …
"Flight Lieutenant Michael Eke, Officer Commanding 1220 (March) Squadron Air Training Corps, has received an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.
Flt Lt Eke has been recognised for his voluntary community work including organising and directing Military Tattoos that draft in over 650 musicians who perform a Royal Tournament type event for the town.
In addition he has organised more than 19 Royal Air Force Band Concerts around the region with profits going to charities.
Flt Lt Eke commands a very vibrant squadron based in March and cadets are renowned for their work in the community.
This led to the squadron gaining the Freedom of the Town back in 1996, the second ATC unit to have gained the award."
In 2004 Eke was given the honour of carrying the Olympic flame on part of its 78-day worldwide journey, and in December 2005 he was charged with dishonestly obtaining a total of £9,784 from Cambridgeshire police, falsifying a reference in order to obtain the job, stealing three televisions, eight lap top computers, two portable DVDs and two digital cameras, theft of a cheque and cash from the ATC, obtaining money and property by deception, and dishonestly obtaining £16,754 of lottery funding.
It was also revealed that he had put himself forward for the M.B.E. Enterprising fellow - 10 out of 10 for initiative, anyway.
Many of you already know the GOS's views on the honours system. It's crap. While a few deserving people get awards for their service to the community or to their own fields of expertise, there are far too many who are self-serving wankers with co-operative cronies or, in one case personally known to the GOS, drinking-companions. There is little evidence that anyone actually checks to see if a nominee is suitable. The whole thing stinks, and the only thing Michael Winner ever did right was refuse his O.B.E.
The GOS has never been able to understand why no-one has put his name forward. You probably feel the same. You and the GOS probably deserve an honour just as much as most of the no-account place-holders who've got one. So the GOS would like to make a proposal …
If you want an M.B.E., send the GOS an email with your name and address. The GOS will then put you in touch with someone else who also wants an M.B.E. and you can swap CVs and nominate each other. You'll also need a couple of letters of support, but if you don't actually have any friends I'm sure the GOS will be able to help with that as well. Rest assured, all this is completely legal (I think). In any case, since nobody checks, there's not much chance of being found out, is there? After all, we're not proposing to tell any lies, are we? At least, no more than the aforementioned cronies and drinking-companions.
You can find out more about the honours system here, although the DfES website is even better, and you can download the nomination form.
Go on, I think you owe it to yourself, don't you?
Just so long as you don't get the idea that you also owe yourself £9,784, a false reference, three televisions, eight lap top computers, two portable DVDs, two digital cameras or £16,754 of lottery funding.
either on this site or on the World Wide Web.
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