A guide to His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant Awards 2024

Guidance for commanding officers who wish to nominate an individual for a Lord-Lieutenant Award.

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 present are among the highest an individual can receive.

They give the awards to volunteers and cadets in recognition of outstanding service at one of the ceremonies hosted by the RFCA in each of Yorkshire and the Humber’s four counties.

Who is eligible for an award?

To be eligible for an award, the nominee must serve as a reserve, cadet force adult volunteer, cadet or as an employee of the reserve and cadet forces.

Awards for reserves

What do I need to know about nominating a reserve?

North Yorks 2023 reserve winners (from L-R) James Sanderson, Darren Rose, Mark Woodburn and Carl Vinand, with HM Lord-Lieutenant of North Yorkshire, Jo Ropner

Who can I nominate?

Lord-Lieutenants’ Awards may be awarded to any serving reservist with the Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Marines Reserve, Army Reserve or Royal Auxiliary Air Force, and regular service personnel and civilians (e.g. civil and crown servants) who are employed in direct support of the reserve forces. This criteria includes personnel within the University Royal Naval Unit, Officer Training Corps and University Air Squadron.

What are the criteria for nomination?

Exceptional service is the principal requirement for an award.

The award is not intended as recognition of long and faithful service or for outstanding service on operations, which, rightly, should be recommended through the Chain of Command. However, such service can form part of the evidence of exceptional service. As a guide, an individual should normally have a minimum of six years’ service before being recommended for an award, but citations for individuals with fewer than six years’ service will be considered on their merits.

To qualify, an individual must be serving with, or employed by, the reserve forces on 1st January of the year in which they are recommended. The certificate may only be awarded once to the same individual.

In which county can someone be eligible for an award?

Individuals who are recommended for an award will normally be eligible within the county of their parent unit or sub-unit, not in the county where they live, if this is different. For example, if the unit location of the individual is in Leeds but they live in York, they will be awarded at the West Yorkshire ceremony, not the North Yorkshire ceremony. Exceptionally, for individuals still serving in the National Army Reserve, awards will be made in the county where the individual lives.

The award is in the form of a framed certificate signed by the Lord-Lieutenant of the county.

How do I submit a nomination for someone from the reserve forces?

Download the below nomination form, which should then be completed electronically by the commanding officer (or equivalent) and submitted via email to Tammy Mitchell
yh-commsao@rfca.mod.uk by Friday 10th May 2024:

Reserves-CadetVolunteer-Civilian_NominationForm-2024 (.docx, 129.08kB)

Note:

Recommendations for a Lord-Lieutenants’ award should not normally be submitted to run concurrently with one for an award in the New Year’s or Birthday Honours List, unless in exceptional circumstances, which should be highlighted in a covering letter.

An unsuccessful recommendation does not rule out the submission of a further recommendation at a later date.

The deadline for recommendations is 1600hrs Friday 10th May 2024.

Recommendations for HM Lord-Lieutenants’ Awards should include a detailed, considered citation, based upon the template provided within the nomination form. Written in the third person, and suitable to be read out during the award ceremony, citations should be concise, engaging and informative. Personal/family content should be avoided.

Care should be given to illustrate all aspects of the individual’s service, particularly those underpinning the recommendations. Service to the wider Armed Forces and local communities should also be highlighted.

Awards for cadet force adult volunteers

What do I need to know about nominating an adult volunteer?

South Yorks 2023 cadet adult volunteer winners (from L-R) Kiran Kundi, Stephen Brightmore and Barry French with HM Lord-Lieutenant of South Yorkshire, Professor Dame Hilary Chapman DBE

Who can I nominate?

Lord-Lieutenants’ Awards may be given to any cadet force adult volunteer within the Sea Cadet Corps, Royal Marines Cadets, Army Cadet Force, Air Training Corps, Combined Cadet Forces and civilians (e.g. civil and crown servants) employed by or providing direct support to the cadet organisations.

What are the criteria for nominations?

The award is not intended as a routine recognition of long and faithful service; the criterion of exceptional service must be the principal factor.

As a guide, an individual should normally have a minimum of six years’ service before being recommended for an award, however citations for individuals with fewer than six years’ service will be considered on their merits. To qualify, an individual must be serving with, or employed by one of the single service cadet forces on 1st January of the year in which they are recommended. The certificate may only be awarded once to the same individual.

In which county can nominees be eligible for an award?

Individuals who are recommended for an award will normally be eligible within the county of their parade unit, not in the county where they live, if this is different. For example, if the unit location of the individual is in Hull but they live in Scarborough, they will be awarded at the East Riding of Yorkshire ceremony, not the North Yorkshire ceremony.

The award is in the form of a framed certificate signed by the Lord-Lieutenant of the county.

How to submit a nomination for cadet force adult volunteers

Download the below nomination form, which should then be completed electronically by the commanding officer (or equivalent) and submitted via email to Tammy Mitchell
yh-commsao@rfca.mod.uk by Friday 10th May 2024:

Reserves-CadetVolunteer-Civilian_NominationForm-2024 (.docx, 129.08kB)

Note

Recommendations for a Lord-Lieutenants’ award should not normally be submitted to run concurrently with one for an award in the New Year’s or Birthday Honours List, unless in exceptional circumstances, which should be highlighted in a covering letter.

An unsuccessful recommendation does not rule out the submission of a further recommendation at a later date.

The deadline for recommendations is 1600hrs Friday 10th May 2024.

Recommendations for HM Lord-Lieutenants’ Awards should include a detailed, considered citation, based upon the template provided within the recommendation form. Written in the third person, and suitable to be read out during the award ceremony, citations should be concise, engaging and informative. Personal/family content should be avoided.

Care should be given to illustrate all aspects of the individual’s service, particularly those underpinning the recommendations. Service to the wider Armed Forces and local communities should also be highlighted.

Awards for cadets

What do I need to know about nominating a cadet to the post of Lord-Lieutenant Cadet?

Five people in uniform smiling at the camera
West Yorks 2023 Lord-Lieutenant cadets (from L-R) Matthew McGowan, Tomasz Wallace, Talitha Ridley and Katie Crompton with the Lord-Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, Ed Anderson CBE

Each year, the four HM Lord-Lieutenants of Yorkshire appoint young people to serve as their Lord-Lieutenants’ Cadets. These cadets are drawn from the Sea Cadets (SCC), Royal Marines Cadets (RMC), Army Cadets (ACF), Air Training Corps (ATC) and Combined Cadet Forces (CCF). Each service is asked to submit one nomination for each lieutenancy. The appointment is recognised as one of the highest honours a cadet can achieve.

When on duty, the Lord-Lieutenants’ Cadets wear a distinctive badge of their appointment to denote their role. They assist the Lord-Lieutenant as required, often on parade for royal visits, and act as ambassadors for their organisations and the young people of the region. Lord-Lieutenants’ Cadets may wear the special badge of the Lord-Lieutenants’ cipher on their right forearm, four inches from the cuff of their No.1 (RN/RM/RAF) or No.2 (Army) Dress. The badge will remain the property of the cadet. It is the responsibility of the area (SCC/RMC), county (ACF), wing (ATC), school (CCF) to ensure the Lord-Lieutenants’ Cadets have the correct uniform when attending Lieutenancy functions. The letter of appointment issued by the RFCA for Yorkshire and the Humber is to be used as proof of entitlement for additional uniform items.

Lord-Lieutenants’ Cadets are required to attend both the presentations of awards at the beginning and end of their periods in office. The selection of duties for Lord-Lieutenants’ Cadets will be made by the Lord-Lieutenant’s office.

What are the criteria for nominating cadets?

The Lord-Lieutenant’s Cadet is a high profile appointment, and, as such, it is expected that the candidate should be of the highest standard, with excellent bearing, good interpersonal skills and the ability to interact with others. Nominees should hold the rank of at least Able Cadet or Cadet Sergeant and should have been a cadet for at least two years.

The successful cadets must be able to support HM Lord-Lieutenant for a full year following their appointment, meaning that they must not age out of their Cadet Service or have plans to move out of the county (e.g. for university or work) before August 31st of the following year. The successful cadet will be asked to sign the below document to confirm this commitment.

Lord-LieutenantCadet-CommitmentForm-2024 (.docx, 55.25kB)

Services are encouraged to undertake internal selection procedures before making nominations to the RFCA for Yorkshire and the Humber.

The award is in the form of a framed certificate and badges, both of which will be presented by the Lord-Lieutenant of the county at the award ceremony.

What do the Lord-Lieutenant Cadets have to do to be appointed?

Successful Cadets will be required to give a five minute presentation at the awards ceremony in which they will talk about their time in the cadets. The speech should be typed in full on to Microsoft Word and the accompanying photographs must be inserted into Microsoft PowerPoint and submitted to the RFCA. The RFCA will provide cadets with guidance and assistance on completing their speech and slides.

Cadets will also be expected to meet the RFCA comms team at the awards venue a few weeks before the ceremony. This is primarily so that the RFCA can do some promotional interviews with cadets for social media. Cadets can also use this time to practice their speech if they wish. Cadets are requested to send their slides and speech to the RFCA at least one week before the meet-up date.

The RFCA will also take photographs of the cadets at the meet-up for use on our website and social media. Cadets are required to wear their ceremonial dress uniform for the photographs, therefore new uniforms must be ordered by units as soon as the appointment is confirmed and accepted by the cadet.

How do I submit a nomination for a Lord-Lieutenant Cadet?

Download the below nomination form, which should then be completed electronically by the SCC Area Officer / ACF County Commandant / Wing Officer Commanding (or equivalent) / CCF Contingent Commander and submitted via email to Ellie Jones yh-offclk1@rfca.mod.uk by Friday 10th May 2024:

Lord-LieutenantCadet-NominationForm-2024 (.docx, 69.84kB)

Note:

Nominations for HM Lord-Lieutenants’ Cadet should include any relevant qualifications, the individual’s service to the local community and history of their cadet service.

Please take care to include the nominee’s most up to date contact details, as these will be used to inform them of their award.

The deadline for recommendations is 1600hrs Friday 10th May 2024.

Email the completed Lord-Lieutenant Cadet nomination form to:
Ellie Jones yh-offclk1@rfca.mod.uk 

What other honours can the Lord-Lieutenants recognise?

In recognition of the ongoing contribution and commitment made by individuals across the region, the Lord-Lieutenants of North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire are available to present recipients of other appropriate awards (subject to venue capacity and scrutiny).

These may include, for example, a Cadet Force Medal, Cadet Certificates of Good Service, BTEC Diplomas or Master Cadet Awards. Unit HQ’s are to liaise with the RFCA if they wish to take up this offer.

When will the ceremonies take place?

What do I need to know before the ceremony?

Prior to the presentation ceremonies, the RFCA will obtain the signatures of the Lord-Lieutenant of the county on each certificate, and arrange for them to be suitably framed. The RFCA will coordinate details of the venue and timings of the presentation and reception to be held afterwards, and forward these details to the recipients, the recipients’ units and sub-units.

Who is invited to the ceremony?

The RFCA coordinates invitations to the ceremony and the number sent out is dependant on the size of venue. Generally, they are sent to recipients, commanding officers (or equivalent), employers (if applicable and where consent is given), up to two family members or friends, and members of their unit or headquarters.

They are also sent to other interested parties such as Honorary Colonels (or equivalent), Single Service chains of command (reserves and cadets), mayors, MPs, armed forces champions, non-recipient unit commanding officers, supportive employers / business leaders and headteachers.

If additional invitations are required recipients/units should contact the RFCA at the earliest opportunity. Security at the venues is important to us, only those on the official guest will be allowed entry.

What are the arrangements for publicity?

Upon confirmation of their award, recipients will receive details of the relevant ceremony, together with a press and publicity questionnaire which they will be asked to return to the RFCA via email.

The questionnaire asks for the consent of the individual for their award to be publicised, and for them to provide personal details including age, location, employer, school etc. and a short quote for inclusion in publicity materials.

If you have any questions regarding any aspect of the Lord-Lieutenant Awards please email Tammy Mitchell
yh-commsao@rfca.mod.uk

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