DIRECTOR of Staffordshire Film Archive Ray Johnson has been made an MBE.

The film-maker and actor was recognised today in the Queen's New Year's Honours list for services to the arts.

The 64-year-old, from Hanford, said he was surprised to receive the honour and had spent Christmas struggling to keep the news secret until today's announcement.

He said: "I don't know who put me forward, but am very grateful.

"I feel what I do is important and am passionate about it, so I'm pleased others think it's important too."

Mr Johnson made his first compilation from archive film in 1985. It showed King George V getting out of his carriage at the ceremony to create the city of Stoke-on-Trent in 1925.

Since then Mr Johnson has created an archive of hundreds of films, which was originally kept at his home and is now housed at Staffordshire University.

Mr Johnson, a professor of film at the university, said he loved finding and talking to people connected with films.

He said: "It is touching history as people associated with the films are still with us.

"With the archive, Stoke-on-Trent is one of the best documented places in the land outside London."

Paul Boskett, aged 56, from Haslington, near Crewe, has been made an MBE for services to Cheshire Youth Service.

He worked for Cheshire County Council's youth service for 32 years before the authority was scrapped and replaced with Cheshire East Council in 2009.

When he left the county council he was manager of the Youth Voice team.

The father-of-three said: "I thought it was the end of my career when Cheshire County Council ended."

But Mr Boskett is now operations manager for the UK Youth Parliament, which aims to give young people a voice.

He said: "If I was to make a list of people I thought deserved an MBE I wouldn't be on it, but I'm chuffed."

He said he was looking forward to his trip to Buckingham Palace, particularly as his daughter Katy, aged 26, planned to fly over from her home in New Zealand to accompany him.

Mr Boskett started his career as a teacher in Congleton, but said: "I wanted to work with young people closer than sitting them in rows in a classroom.

"I have worked with teenagers of all shapes, sizes and backgrounds and it is like switching a light on every time a young person makes a decision."

Julie Davies, business crime manager for Staffordshire Police's Stoke-on-Trent business crime initiative, is made an OBE.

She has been an adviser to the Midlands Regional Crime Initiative and nationally to Action Against Business Crime.

Mrs Davies said: "I am honoured and shocked. Hopefully it will help highlight the effects of business crime."

In 1988, Mrs Davies created a volunteer anti-theft group which supported local police and exchanged information.

By 1996, the group was so successful that she created and managed the Retail Crime Initiative which was funded by local businesses to tackle retail crime.

In 2000, she extended the boundaries of the initiative to include any crime that affected any business at any time.

She also developed a nighttime partnership to tackle violence and disorder and became the first crime manager to work within the local police station.

Assistant Chief Constable Jane Sawyers said: "Her commitment and dedication go far beyond expectations."

David Pearson, Combined Healthcare's nursing director, is made an MBE for services to mental healthcare.

He is responsible for professional issues affecting nurses at the trust, including their training and development.

Mr Pearson has held the role at Combined, which provides mental health and learning disability services in North Staffordshire, since October 2001.

Trust chairman Sir Phillip Hunter said: "I am delighted David has been recognised for his excellent commitment, professionalism and dedication to both mental health services and the nursing profession."

Another person in the New Year's Honours list is Toni Montinaro, from Hanley.

He has been made an MBE for services to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Derbyshire.

The former manager of Derbyshire Friend, an organisation which supports lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, is due to start a new job at Staffordshire Buddies, a Hanley-based charity for people living with HIV, in the New Year.

Stoke-on-Trent-born Michael Field, one of the UK's specialists in the governance of not-for profit organisations, is made an OBE for services to the voluntary sector.

Dr Field, a former pupil at St Thomas Aquinas Secondary Modern School and Stoke-on-Trent College, has been chief executive of colleges at Amersham and Milton Keynes before becoming chief executive of Croydon College in 1989.

He is a former director of the Learning from Experience Trust, based at Goldsmiths College, University of London, where he is currently a research fellow.

Since 2008 he has served on the Association of Colleges Governor's Council, for colleges of further education.

Dr Field, who lives in Suffolk with his wife Janet, said: "I'm thrilled. I've been associated with voluntary organisations for most of my career and I get pleasure in seeing the amazing work they undertake."

Also made an OBE is Amanda Gray, director of Eccleshall Biomass, for services to the bioenergy industry.