Terry Flanagan, Brian Noble and Natalie Gilmour have all been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for their services to Rugby League.
Flanagan, who was awarded his MBE for services to the game and local charities, started playing Rugby League as a junior for Saddleworth Rangers, his local amateur team and went on to sign for his home town professional team Oldham in 1979. He made over 300 appearances for the Club as well as gaining International Great Britain honours.
A serious knee injury curtailed his playing career when only 30 years of age but he his enthusiasm for the game was aptly displayed when in 1995 he volunteered to coach the inaugural Ireland Rugby League team who were taking part for the first time in the Rugby League Emerging Nations World Cup Competition. In 2012 Terry became the Chairman of the Board of the Mahdlo Youth Zone in Oldham. Despite all the demands upon his time he also accepted the task of being the inaugural Chair of Rugby League Cares, a charity promoting the welfare, education, heritage and community development in the game.
Through Terry's vision, the Charity pulled together three former small Rugby League Charities under one banner and has had a massive impact on the Rugby League Community. Under his Chairmanship there has been a significant increase in funding to a current turnover for the charity of £1m. The impact that the charity makes to individuals, communities, clubs and the game of Rugby League has been immense and is now helping to change hundreds of peoples’ lives.
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Natalie Gilmour was awarded an MBE for her services to Women's Rugby League. Gilmour, who was added to the Rugby Football League's roll of honour in 2014, represented the England Lionesses for more than fifteen years and captained her country in two World Cups whilst also contributing considerable time and work to promoting and developing the community game.
Noble was also awarded an MBE for his services to the game and is one of the UK’s best known Rugby League players and coaches. Noble played over 400 games for Bradford and Wakefield Trinity and captained both Great Britain and England. Between 2001 and 2006, he coached Bradford Bulls to three Super League Grand Final victories. Under him, the Bulls also won the Challenge Cup in 2003 and three World Club Challenges in 2002, 2004 and 2006.
After leaving Bradford, Noble went on to coach at Wigan Warriors, Crusaders and Salford Red Devils. Internationally, as head coach of Great Britain, Noble was the first British coach to defeat Australia at home in over 40 years. He now holds the position of Director of Rugby at the first-ever transatlantic team to enter the competition, Toronto Wolfpack.
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Chief Executive Officer of the Rugby Football League, Nigel Wood, said: “It is fantastic news for Terry, Brian and Natalie to be recognised and honoured with such a special award.
“There are plenty of people who help charities, local organisations and sporting clubs but Terry stands out because of the sheer weight of his involvement. He’s a natural leader who has freely volunteered his time over a number of years and had a massive influence at Saddleworth Rangers and the Rugby League Cares Charity.
"Natalie has represented England with distinction for a number of years and to lead her country as captain for such a long time demonstrates the respect her teammates and coaches have for her and the qualities that she has as a player and leader. She is an excellent role model for all young players and is thoroughly deserving of this recognition."
“Brian has gone from being a top performer on the field for club and country to remaining focused and transferring that winning attitude to his coaching career with a number of Super League clubs and Great Britain.
“He’s a well-respected figure in the game who has won the top awards in this country and is still doing his best to develop and promote Rugby League around the world, with the newest team to join the league, Toronto Wolfpack.”
