A colonel started his 53rd year in style after being honoured by the Queen.

Colonel Mark Cuthbert-Brown, Commandant at the Royal Military School of Music, at Kneller Hall, Twickenham, celebrated his second day as a 53-year-old by visiting Buckingham Palace, where he was awarded a CBE.

He said: “It was an awe-inspiring day. The staff at the palace were all warm and welcoming and the Prince of Wales found the time to speak to everybody.”

Col Cuthbert-Brown has been in the armed forces for more than 30 years, spending 10 years as a military police officer.

He was awarded the CBE for his work as deputy commander of Osnabruck Garrison, an army base in Germany, which was home to about 4,000 British troops and their families in its final years before closing in 2009.

Over a three-year period, Col Cuthbert-Brown oversaw the running of the base, including schooling for its 2,000 children, transport and retail provisions, and its closure.

A priceless part of his job included reassuring both the soldiers fighting overseas and their families back at the base that each other were safe.

He said: “I provided all the management to keep the town. I visited Iraq to talk to the soldiers and assure those in the fields their families were being looked after. It was great fun and very rewarding.”

Osnabruck was the first garrison established by the British following the invasion of Germany after World War II. For more than 60 years it was home to thousands of soldiers until it closed last year.

Col Cuthbert-Brown returned to England and is now in charge of 800 musicians as director corps of army music at the Royal Military School of Music.

He said: “I’m the biggest employer of musicians in the country. It’s a joyful experience.”

Despite his impressive work, the father-of-two said his inclusion in the New Year’s Honours List was not expected.

“It was a huge surprise,” he added. “I called my son and although you’re not expected to tell anyone until the following weekend he managed to put it on Facebook. It was just a dream. I had to wait for the proof to believe it.”

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