Lord-Lieutenant's Cadet

The Lord-Lieutenant's Cadet is seen as the aide and representative of the cadet forces to the British royal family and the Lord-lieutenant in an administrative county of England, Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland. Typically, one is chosen from each of the main cadet forces, the Army Cadet Force, Air Training Corps and Sea Cadets (United Kingdom). Occasionally, one may also be chosen from the Combined Cadet Force.^[1] They are selected each year at the Spring Lord-lieutenant's awards in each county.

They provide an essential link between the armed forces and the local community, assist with recruiting within the cadet forces and assist the county's Reserve Forces and Cadets Association.^[2] The cadet from each arm of the cadet forces is selected and appointed based on their outreach and participation within their squadron, detachment or unit, and is seen as one of the highest achievements in the Cadet Forces.

Greater London[]

The Lord-Lieutenant's Cadets from the administrative county of Greater London (as of 1965)^[3] are appointed from one of the four "quadrants" of London. The locally elected cadets are then decided on, separately, rather than county-wide, like the other counties of the United Kingdom. The current Lord Lieutenant's Cadets of Greater London assumed position on the 14th of March 2021 and will hold their position until 14 March 2022.

CSM Alfie Tucker joined the Sector in January 2016 and has quickly established himself as a role model to other cadets, mentoring younger Cadets in detachments and Coy Level. Since he has been appointed the Cadet Company Sergeant Major for 4 Company he has also visited all Detachments within his Company, to speak with the Cadet Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) and Cadets within each Detachment.

As well as achieving his 4 star military Army proficiency certificate (APC) he has also achieved his 2 star Music APC and is currently a training 3 Star musician. At Annual Camp 2019 he won the Sector Drum Major Competition and was appointed the City of London and North East Sector (CoLNES) Cadet Drum Major. He is also a Sector Corps of Drums Lead Flautist and teaches the Flute to junior Cadets and interested Cadet Force Adult Volunteers.

He has performed at a number of events, including playing the flute at the 2019 RFCA Spring Award Ceremony, and supporting the CoLNES Corps of Drums at a performance at the Tower of London. As Sector Drum Major he led the Sector Corps of Drums at the 2019 Remembrance day parade.

Some additional events that CSM Alfie Tucker has paraded over the years and most annually are; Armed Forces Day Parades, the Field of Remembrance event, The Queen’s Birthday Parade, Household Division Beating retreat at Horse Guards, St Georges Day Parade at Whitehall, Woolmen Stair Guards, YOU London event at Buckingham palace and the Lord Mayors show.

Alfie has also competed in Elworthy Sector Football and Athletic competitions, demonstrating his determination to make the most of his Cadet experience and to become wholly involved in all activities available to him. In October 2018 he successfully completed the National Cadet Leadership course.

FS Amakye has a wealth of cadet experience and has gained so much over the years. He most certainly takes full advantage of all that is on offer in the RAF caders. He has taken part in a wide range of cadet activities and gained many qualifications along the way.

FS Amakye has demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities and has helped the squadron on various leadership courses, including squadron and sector NCO/Bronze leadership courses. His keen interest in aviation and the Royal Air Force and encouraged him to take full advantage of camp places around the UK. He has attended summer camps at RAF Cosford, RAF Marham, RAF Hendon, RAF Henlow, and RAF Leeming.

FS Amakye’s passion for helping the community is evident, from cleaning cemeteries for local trusts to travelling overseas on community-based projects. He has travelled overseas with the squadron to Ghana where he was a key team member and helped with the construction of a library for an orphanage in the deprived hilly area of Accra. He is on the team travelling to Costa Rica over Christmas 2019 to help build a conservation educational facility, where hundreds of children both from Costa Rica and around the globe will learn the importance of conservation and preservation. FS Amakye is indeed a brilliant citizen and a fantastic role-model to his peers.

FS Amakye’s dedication and commitment to duty is second to none on the squadron. He regularly parades with his band at ceremonial events, from wedding to national parades. His squadron band reached the Corps Championship in 2018 and as one of the senior members, was a key player in achieving that success.

FS Amakye, without a doubt is all the RAFAC stands for and he most certainly has a positive influence on his junior cadets who aspire to be like him.

POC Elizabeth Hill is an excellent cadet, who really came to the forefront of district and area attention when her home unit at Richmond found itself without a capable unit CO or instructional staff. As the most senior cade in the unit, she put aside her own development to design and execute a training programme for younger cadets at the unit to ensure they remained engaged and active during the period the unit spent looking for new adults.

POC Elizabeth Hill is an excellent cadet, who really came to the forefront of district and area attention when her home unit at Richmond found itself without a capable unit CO or instructional staff. As the most senior cade in the unit, she put aside her own development to design and execute a training programme for younger cadets at the unit to ensure they remained engaged and active during the period the unit spent looking for new adults.

Her enthusiasm and ability meant that, during this difficult time, the number of cadets at the unit actually increased, as did their attendance at external events, both in the community and in the wider sea cadet forum. Her imagination and selfless dedication to her unit and fellow cadets was instrumental in seeing the unit through this period of change, and such was her determination to succeed that she even convinced her own mother to volunteer, and to eventually take the role of unit CO. Together, mother and daughter have led Richmond Unit out of doldrums to become one of the most improved units in the London Area.

Now that Elizabeth is able to concentrate a little more on her own development, she has really shone toward the end of 2019, finally passing her examination board to be promoted to Petty Officer Cadet, with some of the highest marks seen for some considerable time.

Her involvement in the delivery of London Area’s National Citizen Scheme in 2019 (having graduated herself late in 2017) gave her the necessary skills to engage at a much higher level than many of her peers, and she has been a fine representative for her unit to city liveries, local dignitaries and has represented her district and London Area to potential sponsors, always conducting herself superbly.

Belfast[]

Cadet Lance Corporal Emily-Louise Gray is described in her award Citation as a young woman who ‘has demonstrated utmost dedication to her Detachment and Company, inspiring her peers and remaining the consummate role model to others, always leading from the front and encouraging others to achieve their full potential. Intelligent and articulate, Emily-Louise has a natural ability to enthuse all those around her.’

Her commitment to her school Detachment has seen Emily-Louise emerge as a particularly effective instructor in a wide range of Cadet activities, notably sport where her skills and standards both set her apart as a competing individual and make her an inspiration in team situations.

Hard working, adaptable and thoroughly reliable, her boundless energy extends beyond the Cadet movement and, in addition to her ACF activities, she makes time to play hockey and study music to a high level.^[4]

Holywood teenager Tamzin McMullan has been appointed to serve as Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet for the County Borough of Belfast.

The Sullivan Upper student takes on a largely ceremonial year-long role during which she will attend Mrs Fionnuala Jay-O'Boyle, CBE, Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant for the city, on major civic occasions. In recognition of the award she will be entitled to wear a special insignia on her uniform throughout her year in office.

An active and enthusiastic Cadet, Tamzin is progressing through the cadet syllabus with ease, and has already attained the rank of Cadet Corporal. Described as being ‘ahead of her peer group in commitment and determination to succeed’, Tamzin is a valued and popular member of her unit; good humoured, energetic and dynamic; intelligent and articulate.

Her apparently boundless energy is evident not only in the Cadets but in her numerous extra-curricular activities which include playing for her school Netball and Hockey teams, studying musical theatre, classical singing, piano and violin and being a member of the Ulster Youth Choir.

Tamzin loves the outdoors and has a keen interest in skiing, rock climbing and watersports. She assists in her spare time as a Volunteer Climbing Wall Instructor at her local club where she also helps to run bouldering classes. She doesn’t keep her hockey skills for the school team either, as she is a volunteer coach for the under 11s with the Northern Ireland Civil Service Hockey team. ^[5]

Darcie has earned the trust and respect of all at Belfast Eagle and is particularly noted for her work in training and mentoring junior cadets in her unit, and in representing Northern Ireland Sea Cadets in National Competitions. In 2019 Darcie was selected from 14,000 cadets across the United Kingdom to attend an International Exchange programme to Hong Kong.

She is recognised as an exceptional leader and has collected several awards for her participation and involvement in the local community. In addition, fun-loving Darcie is a keen paddler and a member of her local paddle sports club, where she commits much of her spare time to training, coaching and mentoring the less able members and hopes to qualify as a coach later this year. She is also a member of her local running club where, with her usual giving spirit, she helps the club by training and assisting new members.^[6]

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