His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant Awards

What are the HM Lord-Lieutenant Awards?

HM Lord-Lieutenants are appointed by The King to represent him in each county of the United Kingdom and the honours they confer are among the highest any individual can receive.

The awards they give are to volunteers and cadets in recognition of their outstanding service and are intended to supplement honours bestowed by His Majesty The King in the New Year and Birthday Honours Lists. The Lord-Lieutenants make these awards at four ceremonies hosted by the RFCA in each of Yorkshire and the Humber’s four counties – North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire.

Who is eligible for an award?

Serving personnel from the reserve forces, cadet force adult volunteers and regular service personnel or civilians who are employed in direct support of the reserve and cadet forces. e.g. civil and crown servants.

Young people from the cadet forces are also honoured by being appointed HM Lord-Lieutenant’s Cadets of their county, the highest honour a cadet can achieve. Cadets are in post for a year and support the Lord-Lieutenant at many ceremonial duties throughout the year such as Royal Visits and Remembrance Day.

Who can make a nomination?

The commanding officer from an individual’s unit can put forward a nomination. Information about making a nomination, including criteria, eligibility and the process for submission is available in our resources section, when the nomination window is open.

If you have any questions or require any further information about the awards, please contact Tammy Mitchell – [email protected].

How are recipients awarded?

The RFCA hosts the region’s four Lord-Lieutenant Awards ceremonies at a military establishment it manages in each of its county areas. Each ceremony is attended by the relevant Lord-Lieutenant and recipients are invited to attend along with their families and unit representatives.

At the ceremony, each cadet appointed as a Lord-Lieutenant’s Cadet for their county gives a speech outlining their experiences within the cadet movement. Below is a video of the speeches made by cadets at the North Yorkshire ceremony in 2021.

Videos of the other 2021 Lord-Lieutenant’s Cadet speeches which took place in South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire, are available on our YouTube channel where you can also view ceremonies held in 2020 which were fully online events due to Covid-19 at the time.

You can see photos from our 2024 awards events at our galleries.

What do the awards mean to recipients?

Leah-Paige

“Cadets has taught me to believe in myself. I’ve gained confidence, built leadership and communication skills, and learned self-discipline.

“I can now work effectively under pressure and adapt to new challenges.”

Petty Officer Cadet Leah-Paige Broadfoot of Bradford Sea Cadets and HM Lord-Lieutenant Cadet of West Yorkshire 2025.

Abdulla

“Being in the Army Cadets has really helped me grow in confidence. I’ve learned to work as part of a team, stay calm when things get tough, and keep pushing myself.

“It’s shown me I can do more than I ever thought I could.”

Cadet Sergeant Marcus Langrick of Humberside and South Yorkshire ACF and HM Lord-Lieutenant Cadet of the East Riding of Yorkshire 2025.

Samantha

“I’ve learnt so much by being in the air cadets and have also gained qualifications such as the ILM Level 3 leadership and management course and Gold Duke of Edinburgh.

“I’ve made so many friends along the way and have been able to massively build my confidence.”

Cadet Sergeant Samantha Lowes , Read School Combined Cadet Force and HM Lord-Lieutenant Cadet of North Yorkshire 2025.

When will the next Lord-Lieutenant Awards take place?

The ceremonies typically take place in September/October. Please check back soon for details of the 2026 award dates.