The Queen's Medal

The RCVS Queen’s Medal is the College’s most prestigious honour for veterinary surgeons and was launched in 2013 with the permission of the late Queen Elizabeth II. The award is open to MsRCVS, excluding current RCVS Council and VN Council members.  

The Medal recognises a veterinary surgeon who has achieved a highly distinguished career with sustained and outstanding achievements throughout.

This honour may be conferred upon only one member of the College each year. 

Nominations can be made by any MRCVS or RVN, excluding current RCVS Council and VN Council members. 

The nomination period for the 2025 RCVS Honours & Awards is now open. Nominations close at 5pm on Friday 13 December 2024. To nominate somebody for the Queen’s Medal, please download the nomination form at the bottom of this page.

Please note, to fill out the form you will need to open it using Adobe Acrobat, edit it, then save it, and send it back to us. If you experience any issues with the form, please send the information requested on the form in a word document instead, to Antalena Alexandre, Executive Assistant to the CEO, on [email protected].

Successful nominees for RCVS Honours & Awards will be announced in March 2025 and invited to attend Royal College Day in July 2025.

Previous Queen's Medal recipients

2024: Professor Stuart Reid CBE FRCVS, received the Queen’s Medal in recognition of his of his extensive work in the field of veterinary education and his research focused on zoonotic disease and antimicrobial resistance in a One Health context. He is President of the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), and an autonomous member of the University of London Federation. Professor Reid’s career saw him become dean at the University of Glasgow in 2005 before moving to (RVC) in 2011. Profession Reid has over 160 scientific publications to his name and has received over 16M in competitive funding throughout his career. Additionally, Professor Reid was President of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2014-2015 and was appointed CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2018 for services to the veterinary profession and higher education.

2023: Dr Bruce Fogle MBE MRCVS, an author and veterinary surgeon of more than 50 years’ standing, he received the Queen’s Medal in recognition of his career as a clinician, author and humanitarian. As well as being the Director of his London-based veterinary practice since 1973, Dr Fogle was one of five vets responsible for setting up London’s first ever 24-hour veterinary emergency service, was a co-founder of the Hearing Dogs for Deaf People charity in 1982, which has since paired 1,000 dogs and people, and is also chairman of Humane Society International UK, a charity protecting animals from abuse and harm, since 2012.

2022: Professor Mike Herrtage FRCVS, received the Queen's Medal for his prestigious and extensive clinical and academic career both in the UK and across the world. Based at Cambridge Vet School, throughout his career, Professor Herrtage has been involved in veterinary organisations and governance, for example, he was the first President of the European Board of Veterinary Specialisation and served as President of the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) as well as being an RCVS Council member for 21 years. He has also had an extensive research career and has provided his expertise to charities such as the Kennel Club.  

2021: Dr John (Iain) Glen MRCVS, part of a team at AstraZeneca responsible for the discovery and development of the anaesthetic drug propofol, which is one of the world’s most common anaesthetics for medical and veterinary use. Dr Glen received two separate nominations, from Professor Ronald Jones FRCVS and Professor John Boyd MRCVS, both of whom praised his role in propofol and his dedication to One Health as a veterinary surgeon who had brought his knowledge and expertise to the pharmaceuticals industry.

2020: Dr Mary Stewart MRCVS, a retired academic who spent most of her career at the University of Glasgow where she was responsible for the development of the modern vet school. She was nominated in recognition of her influence on the development of an ethical approach to the vet-client-patient dynamic and on recognising the emotional impact that euthanasia can have both on the client, and the attending veterinary surgeon. Her nominator, Professor Stuart Reid, praised her for taking a leading pivotal role in the development of Glasgow Vet School along with its founder Sir William Weipers, as demonstrated by the fact that she has a building at the school named after her.

2019: Professor the Lord Trees MRCVS, Emeritus Professor at the University of Liverpool and a Cross-bench Peer of the House of Lords, for his outstanding contributions to the profession, who has dedicated his career to working above and beyond the call of duty in the fields of veterinary medicine or science. As the only veterinarian in Parliament, Lord Trees is a great ambassador for the veterinary profession, ensuring the veterinary voice is heard from the highest levels of government, all the way through to the client, on a global basis. 

2018: Professor Peter Clegg FRCVS, Head of the Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease at the University of Liverpool, for his services to the promotion of interdisciplinary research with his engagement in veterinary, medical and biomedical research relating to musculoskeletal biology and ophthalmology as well as his service to education and academic mentoring. Please take a listen to our RCVS Podcast interview with Peter Clegg in which he talks about balancing both a clinical and an academic research career while supporting dozens of students through their degrees.

2017: Dr Barry Johnson MRCVS for his years of service to clinical practice, veterinary education and public service – including 28 years on RCVS Council and his position as High Sheriff of Lancashire from 2014 to 2015.

2016: Professor Randolph Richards MRCVS for his contribution to fish health and welfare, aquaculture, and the development of the salmon farming industry in Scotland.

2015: Lord Soulsby of Swaffham Prior HonFRCVS, the first veterinary surgeon to sit in the House of Lords and former President of both the RCVS and Royal Society of Medicine, for his contribution to veterinary politics and academia.

2014: Mr Desmond James Thompson HonFRCVS, a former President of the RCVS and the British Veterinary Association, for his contribution to the veterinary community in Northern Ireland and beyond.