>>and he goes unnoticed - an utter disgrace
How do you know he was not offered one?
People CAN turn down honours, you dont HAVE to accept them. They are written to months in advance to ask if they want one.
Some people are against the idea of honours.
Some people want to wait until perhaps they are older (and their career has ended) before accepting them.
Some people (particularly those from ethnic groups) dont like the idea some of the awards still talk about Empire (OBE - Order of the British Empite etc)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_British_Empire