The other heroes of Ground Zero

Among the heroes who emerged in the aftermath of September 11, one man and his staff went virtually unnoticed.

As British families struggled to come to terms with the loss of their loved ones in the terror attack, members of the British Consulate in New York were on hand to help relatives grieve and make regular visits to Ground Zero.

Consul General Thomas Harris, who is to be knighted, and a small team of dedicated civil servants arranged emergency passports for those who had lost their documents in the blast and undertook the 'harrowing and near impossible' job of confirming which British citizens were in the Twin Towers when they collapsed.

In the wake of the atrocity, consular staff liaised with emergency workers to get relatives as close to the site as possible without hampering the rescue effort.

'None of us had experienced anything like that before, so it was all uncharted territory,' said Mr Harris.

'All I could promise was that we would do our best to get these people through it.'

He added: 'We did whatever we could to show them the site, but the rescue operation was paramount and we did not want to do anything to get in the way.'

Staff were based in 100 rooms in the UN building which were taken over by the consulate.

From there they began the emotional task of contacting next of kin and informing them of the deaths of their relatives. The consulate, which is part of the Foreign Office, organised accommodation for families who flew to the U.S., worked with the emergency services and set up information helplines.

A team of 30 consular staff, 20 British police officers and ten bereavement counsellors worked around the clock to support the families of the dozens who had died.

Mr Harris's wife, Mei Ling, also established a shrine at Our Lady of the Rosary Church, the only one near the ruins of the World Trade Centre which was not evacuated.

She got permission for flags and flowers to be left there and the area became a place of pilgrimage for grieving Britons.

Those honoured also include consul Ian Gibbons, who will receive an MBE along with vice- consul Ian Baines, and American staff Megan McDowell and Kara Frasse.

Duncan Taylor, deputy head of mission, will become a CBE while Howard Drake and Patrick Owens each receive an OBE.