A refugee from the Nazis, two specialists in women’s health and senior figure in the City of London have all been recognised in the New Year’s Honours list.

Allyson Kaye, founder and chair of Ovarian Cancer Action, received an MBE for services to sufferers of the disease.

Ms Kaye, a member of South Hampstead Synagogue, founded the charity — which funds research and provides information for hospitals and patients — after her mother Helene died of ovarian cancer.

She said: “It was a surprise to receive the award. I am absolutely delighted.”

Eighty-six-year-old Thomas Eugene Shaw received a British Empire Medal for charitable services.

‘It sends a message about women’s health’

Born Jurgen Eugene Schongeld in 1928, he fled Hamberg for the UK at the age of 10 to escape the Nazis. In 1970, he founded the charity Buckets and Spades, a kosher home for mentally handicapped children of all religions, which is now part of the Norwood family charity.

The former magistrate, from west London, said the honour “came as a big surprise, I knew nothing about it.”

Professor Linda Cardozo, a consultant gynaecologist at King’s College Hospital in London, received an OBE for services to urogynaecology and women’s health.

Prof Cardozo, who is the UK’s first professor in this field of medicine — a sub-specialty of gynecology — said: “I think that this sends out a strong message regarding the quality of life of women. So often in medicine, exposure is given to high-profile specialties, dealing with life-threatening diseases and emotive issues. But little thought is given to the millions of women who suffer from pelvic-floor disorders, so it is for them that this honour gives me the greatest pride.”

Michael Marks was made a Commander of the Royal Victoria Order (CVO) for his services as a trustee of the Queen’s Trust and the Prince’s Trust.

In 1999, Mr Marks received a CBE for his contribution to Britain’s financial services industry, as former executive chairman at Merrill Lynch.

Dr Anna-Maria Rollin, a member of Kingston Liberal Synagogue, received an MBE for services to anaesthesia.

Dr Rollin, 67, a consultant anaesthetist at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “An enormous amount of the credit for this goes to my department at the hospital, and to my family, who have had to put up with a lot of delayed meals over the years.”

Estelle Rowe, national director of the engineering Headstart programme, received an MBE for services to education. She said the recognition would “in some small way help encourage girls to look to careers in engineering and science”.