Olympic hero Matthew Pinsent, one of only five athletes to win gold at four successive Games, has been knighted in the New Year's Honours.

The 34-year-old rower, right, who lives in Henley, receives his knighthood for services to sport.

His fellow rowers in the coxless four at Athens are also honoured -- including former Oxford Brookes University rower Steve Williams, 28, who receives an MBE.

There were also honours for Oxfordshire people far from the national spotlight, including Elsie Sollis, of Meadow Way, Kingham, who received the MBE for services to the village community.

Mrs Sollis, 82, has lived in Kingham for 60 years, during which time she has looked after elderly people in the village, collected pensions, sewed for people in the village, cleaned the church and cooked for the local elderly people's lunch club.

Mrs Sollis said: "I'm a bit embarrassed by it, I love people and I love helping, so I don't want any fuss."

John Hurren, 50, deputy chief fire officer of Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, receives the Queen's Fire Service Medal. Mr Hurren, a firefighter for 31 years, has spent the past five and-a-half years at Oxfordshire.

He said: "I'm delighted and surprised. It's quite humbling to get an award for something you enjoy doing. There's a lot of variety in this job and I'm still enjoying work as much as ever."

The Queen's Police Medal is awarded to Paul Kirby, who retired recently as a Chief Superintendent with Thames Valley Police.

There is a knighthood for Prof Brian Harrison, former editor of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. The recently published 60-volume edition contains 50,000 biographies.

Former Chichele Professor of Medieval History at Oxford University Prof Rees Davies and the chairman and chief executive of the Office of Fair Trading, John Vickers, who lives in Oxford, also receive knighthoods.

Prof Susan Iversen, pro-vice chancellor of Oxford University, receives a CBE for services to higher education and to science.

Robert Faber, former project director for Oxford University Press on the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, receives an OBE for services to scholarship.

Private secretary to Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, Nicholas Chance, from Oxfordshire, becomes a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order.

Girlguiding Anglia region president Vivien Pleydell-Bouverie, of Banbury, receives an MBE for services to young people.

Raymond Brown, of Oxford, also receives the MBE for services to the Environment Agency.

Art expert Philip Mould, 44, of Great Rollright, the co-presenter of BBC2's Antiques Show, has been awarded the OBE for his work on the art collection at the Palace of Westminster.

Rosemary Roberts, of Wards Road, Chipping Norton, received the MBE for her work as chief copy-editor of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

Retired probation officer Pat Goodwin has been honoured with an MBE for services to the community in Abingdon, where she has spent many years as a student support worker at the town's John Mason School.

Keen botanist Jo Dunn, of Charlbury, who has spent the past 20 years helping to monitor, conserve and record several of the county's rare wild flowers, has been awarded an MBE for services to conservation.

Miss Dunn, a retired private secretary who has lived in Oxfordshire for 42 years, said the honour for her work, had come as a "great surprise".

Celia Collett has been awarded an MBE for services to the community in Brightwell-cum-Sotwell.

The Honours list includes three servicemen from RAF Brize Norton.

Squadron Leader Jonathan Harrison and Warrant Officer William Currie have both been awarded the MBE. Sdn Ldr Harrison is a pilot with 99 Squadron, now serving in Germany, who developed tactics for flying C17 aircraft in Afghanistan and Iraq.

WO Currie was given the honour for displaying exemplary leadership.

Flight Sergeant Adrian Bridge, a reservist serving with Brize-based 501 Squadron, was awarded the Queen's Volunteer Reserve Medal for showing professional excellence, loyalty and devotion to duty.