Neil Martin, Chief Executive of the Jewish Lads’ & Girls’ Brigade (JLGB), has been appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the New Year Honours List 2025.
Neil – who grew up in Gants Hill and now lives in South Woodford – has been recognised for ‘national service to young people, interfaith relations and Holocaust remembrance’.
This distinction elevates him from the OBE he received in 2016, recognising two decades of his sustained national impact.
Fittingly, this year marks the 20th anniversary of Neil’s appointment as Chief Executive of JLGB – a time during which he has transformed the UK’s oldest Jewish youth charity into an award-winning national exemplar of inclusive, culturally sensitive youth provision – enabling tens of thousands of disadvantaged and minority young people to thrive and contribute to British society without compromising their religious or cultural identity.
His tenure has reshaped faith and culturally sensitive youth provision across the UK through major national initiatives, including expansion of kosher and Shabbat-compliant Duke of Edinburgh’s Award access, now a rite of passage for over 50% of Jewish teenagers each year.
Since 2011, Neil has served as Chair of Yom HaShoah UK, the Jewish community’s annual Holocaust memorial day, revitalising national Holocaust remembrance and setting new standards for intergenerational commemoration.
On 23 April 2025, he produced the UK’s National 80th Anniversary Commemoration of the liberation of Bergen-Belsen by the British Army – an event of historic civic significance held outside Parliament in Victoria Tower Gardens, the proposed site of the new National Holocaust Memorial. The ceremony brought together over 4,000 in-person attendees and more than 500,000 online viewers.
Neil also chairs the Interfaith Youth Trust, which supports grassroots interfaith projects across the UK. Through this work, Neil has become one of the UK’s most influential leaders in faith-based and culturally sensitive youth work, shaping national practice far beyond the Jewish community.
Neil said: “I am profoundly humbled by this honour. More than an individual achievement, it reflects the dedication of the young people, volunteers, survivors, colleagues and partners who make this vital work possible, and whom I am so privileged to work alongside. JLGB shaped who I am, and every day I remain inspired by the next generation.
“In a time when community and resilience matter more than ever, I remain deeply committed to ensuring the lessons of the past, combined with the energy and spirit of today’s young people, help shape a stronger and brighter future for us all.”
- Click here to read an interview with Neil in the Rosh Hashanah edition of The Jewish News.
