THE CASE OF THE TRUSTEE AND HIS MBE
Queen Elizabeth II's 1999 Birthday Honours list included the award of an MBE for Stuart Charles Brown, Lead Pensions Administrator, NHS [National Health Service] Pensions Agency, Department of Health, Thornton Cleveleys, Lancashire. Mr Brown also happens to be a trustee of the Cleveleys Congregation of Jehovah'S Witnesses in Lancashire.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen%27s_Official_Birthday
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1998/06/98/queens_birthday_honours/366656.stm
http://wikipedia.sfstate.us/1999_Birthday_Honours#Member_.28MBE.29_2
http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/Showcharity/RegisterOfCharities/ContactAndTrustees.aspx?RegisteredCharityNumber=1066119&SubsidiaryNumber=0
MBE medal featuring a cross, bearing the words "FOR GOD AND THE EMPIRE":
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Mbe_medal_front_and_obverse.jpg
Description of UK Honours System and types of awards:
https://www.gov.uk/honours
https://www.gov.uk/honours/types-of-honours-and-awards
More MBE Details:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire
From Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MBE#Criticism]:
"The order has attracted some criticism for its connection with the idea of the British Empire. Benjamin Zephaniah, a British Jamaican poet, publicly rejected an OBE in 2003 because, he claimed it reminded him of "thousands of years of brutality"*. He went on to say: "It reminds me of how my foremothers were raped and my forefathers brutalised." - * Mills, Merope (2003-11-27). "Rasta poet publicly rejects his OBE". The Guardian, 27 November 2003 [http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2003/nov/27/iraq.monarchy]
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Not all JWs accept these kinds of honours:
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/article109440.ece
