91Èȱ¬

The former president of Glamorgan who quit last month over the running of the cricket club has been appointed an MBE.

County playing legend Peter Walker, 74, regretted recent turbulence but said he was "stunned" by his award.

The Welsh medical profession is well represented with Professor Julian Hopkin of Swansea University's School of Medicine appointed a CBE.

Smoking ban campaigner Dr Ian Campbell, cardiologist Dr John Davies and Keith Dunn of St John Wales are new OBEs.

Cardiff GP Dr Kay Saunders is appointed an MBE for her dedication to helping the homeless.

In industry, Steven Dalton, the managing director of the Sony plant in Bridgend is an OBE while Farmers' Union of Wales president Gareth Vaughan is an MBE.

Nic Wheeler, former chief executive of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority is an OBE along with Paul Williams, chairman of the Deeside College Corporation, and Wales's former disability rights commissioner Dr Kevin Fitzpatrick.

It has been a tumultuous couple of months for Glamorgan as Mr Walker, who helped win the 1969 county championship, quit along with director of cricket Matthew Maynard and last season's captain Jamie Dalrymple.

Mr Walker, regarded as one of the county's greatest players, who played three tests for England, said: "I'm absolutely stunned.

"It's an honour for the game and the game has been very good to me.

"If I did something to put something back into it and this is the reward, I'm happy with that."

"It's overwhelming"

Commenting on the controversy at the club he added: "It's one of my great regrets but I'm still honorary life member of the club, they can't take that away from me.

"I just hope we can get it right with what's left of the winter, so we can start 2011 with a good side, working pretty hard and we might even win something."

Mr Walker turned to broadcasting and commentating, after retiring in 1972.

Elsewhere in sport, middle distance runner Bernie Plain of Cardiff is an MBE for services to athletics.

Mr Plain, 64, ran the 5,000m, 10,000m and marathon for Great Britain and has coached hundreds of athletes in a career spanning 48 years.

"It's overwhelming, I'm just thrilled to bits," he said.

"Running has taken me all over the world. I have loved it, running against some of the best and I have made many friends."

Celebrated rock climber Joe Brown, 80, who was born in Manchester and now lives in Llanberis, Snowdonia, is appointed a CBE.

He earned the nicknamed the "human fly" for his breathtaking televised ascents of mountains in the UK and worldwide.

Professor Hopkin said he was delighted the medical profession in Wales was well represented.

Speaking about being appointed a CBE he said: "I'm very pleased.

"The award is recognition through me of the great team effort at Swansea in building a new medical school - and in innovatively building Wales' medical education and research with the purpose of advancing medicine and peoples' health in Wales and beyond."

"Deeply honoured"

Smoking ban campaigner Dr Campbell has been involved with the campaign group Ash for almost 30 years and was responsible for setting up the first NHS hospital-based Smoking Cessation Counsellor in Wales.

Dr John Davies, who lives in Usk, retired earlier this year after seeing facilities for heart patients at the Royal Gwent Hospital develop from a temporary building to a state-of-the-art unit costing more than £4m.

Mr Dunn, 54, from Newport has been chief executive for St John Wales for the last 10 years.

He said: "I am deeply honoured and very mindful of the work that is carried out every day by our volunteers.

"The actions of St John in Wales make a real difference to the lives of many people . . . I am pleased to be able to play my part in making this happen."

Many of the new MBEs in Wales have been recognised for charity and community work.

They include Paul Davies, from Bargoed, for services to wheelchair rugby, wildlife volunteer Maria Evans who runs the Tinker's Hill Bird of Prey and swan rescue Centre in Pembrokeshire and Ian Jones, former coxswain, for 25 years service for the RNLI lifeboat in Llandudno.

Another went to Morwen Pugh, conductor of Côr Meibion Talgarth male voice choir in Powys, who founded it 41 years ago.

"I was shocked," said Mrs Pugh, a retired music teacher who described herself as "a very young 80."

She paid tribute to the choir, who performed at the Royal Albert Hall last year.

"Where would I be without my boys? I don't have a baton but I have two impressive hands. I say one word before the performance, 'passion.' They're a wonderful bunch of boys and I love them all."

Other MBEs went to Carmarthenshire coracle fisherman Raymond Rees, and Jane Colclough, who has been looking after Rhuddan Castle since 1993.

She said: "I keep a daily check making sure nothing's wrong. I try and make sure everybody enjoys their visit.

"It's lovely to think people have kindly put me forward for it."

And one of the oldest in Friday's list is 90-year-old ex-nurse Sydney Badland honoured for wide-ranging community work in Denbigh, including helping fellow stroke victims.