Well, when reading books that are written by the British, sometimes you run into odd little phrases or acronyms….

Here’s two that I have never run into before:

• DBE / KBE – Dame [or Knight] Commander of the Order of the British Empire
• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) or Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE)[
• Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
• Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
• Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)

And of course, the The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George.  Which brings with it:

• Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GCMG)>/li>
• Knight Commander (KCMG) or Dame Commander (DCMG)
• Companion (CMG)

Hopefully, this will help you if your reading Charles Stross’s The Atrocity Archives.