Army sergeant from Blackpool is awarded an MBE after she helped key decision-makers in Lancashire during the early Covid pandemic

Roxanne McKinnon, a former Montgomery High pupil, was an army reservist in 2020 – but she stepped up as soon as the pandemic surfaced.

She spent 18 months collecting data about Covid cases and hospitalizations in the county, which helped Lancashire’s key decision-makers make vital choices.

And now the former army sergeant’s work has been recognised with an MBE, which she was awarded on Nov 16, 2022.

She attended a ceremony at Windsor Castle, with her husband Richard, and her parents.

Roxanne, 32, said: “It was weird, and I was so nervous. I’m not one to stand up for things, but the castle was incredible and I got to meet the King, and lots of amazing people. It was a nice celebration for my family, and my mum is so proud.”

She worked alongside police and council workers as part of the Lancashire Resilience Forum. And her work on Operation Rescript, the pandemic operation, landed her a new job, as public health analyst with Lancashire County Council.

Roxanne added: “I didn’t think about it because we were all very busy getting all the data to the people who needed it, to figure out what was going on to help people of Lancashire.”

She first joined the army in 2010, aged 20, but became a reservist in 2016 while she studied at Manchester University.