Two KES Colour Sergeants Appointed to be The Lord-Lieutenant of Somerset’s Cadets

Two King Edward’s School CCF Colour Sergeants, CSgt Alexandra Cardash-Crowsley and CSgt Amhar Shazuli, have been awarded the prestigious honour of becoming Lord-Lieutenant of Somerset Cadets for 2021.

The Lord-Lieutenant of Somerset, currently Mrs Annie Maw, is an Honorary Officer appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister. He or she is the permanent representative of the Crown in that county.  These awards for Meritorious Service are awarded annually to only six cadets throughout Somerset, which comprises over 6000 cadets. The awards are made for exceptional meritorious service rendered to the Reserves and Cadet forces in the county. This year, for the first time in its 120-year history, King Edward’s CCF has had two of its cadets recognised with this magnificent award.

In lieu of an investiture ceremony held at Mount House, Taunton, which was cancelled due to the conditions imposed by the current Covid 19 pandemic, an awards event took place at school on Wednesday afternoon to mark their, and other cadets’ achievements.  During the event the two Colour Sergeants were presented with their certificates by the Headmaster, Mr Martin Boden, whilst Contingent Commander, Lt Col Ivor Gardiner also congratulated them and read out excerpts from their citations.  

CSgt Cardash-Crowsley was commended for her tireless and enthusiastic contribution to the contingent and for her passion for detail and planning.  Her efforts to support the training of younger cadets was also singled out, as where her contributions to the contingent running as smoothly as possible during the pandemic lockdown.  Within the contingent, CSgt Cardash-Crowsley fills several roles: Training SNCO, Chief Clerk, events coordinator, instructor and overseeing internal activities for JNCOs.  At the start of the school year, she was awarded the prestigious CCF Sword of Honour. In summation, Lt Col Ivor Gardiner noted that, ‘CSgt Cardash-Crowsley is an invaluable member of the KES CCF. She volunteers an extensive amount of her own time to ensuring the smooth running of the CCF and to mentoring and developing her “cadet family”. In this, her passion and enthusiasm are infectious, her commitment is extraordinary and her dedication is outstanding. She is a role model and exemplary young leader and is richly deserving of this award.’

CSgt Shazuli ‘contributes more to the CCF than can be easily quantified,’ said Lt Col Ivor Gardiner.  ‘He has orchestrated the delivery of the first ever CIS Radio User Course on location at King Edward’s School and, as a result, KES CCF now has a large complement of qualified two-star radio users and holds communications equipment. This, according to the signal’s instructor, is a first in the region. It would not have happened without his absolute determination.’

CSgt Shazuli is also a tremendous role model for younger cadets. He is QM, SNCO, and an instructor and leader within the contingent and was awarded the CCF Sword of Honour in 2019.  Commenting on his appointment, Lt Colonel Gardiner said: ‘CSgt Shazuli, even amongst a motivated and enthusiastic peer group, stands out for his levels of dedication, commitment and enthusiasm. Always forthcoming with fresh ideas and innovations to enhance training and improve process, he is an ambassador for the CCF and cadets as a whole. He is richly deserving of recognition for his services to cadets.’

As part of yesterday’s event the following awards were also presented to the assembled cadets.

ILM Level 2 Award for Young Leaders

The following cadets completed a 2-day training course consisting of practical, hands-on tasks and classroom-based theory sessions.  Topics included leadership styles, team development, problem solving and planning, setting SMART objectives and using SWOT analysis, providing cadets with an opportunity to reflect on their leadership potential prior to beginning the challenging MOI (Method of Instruction) course during October Half Term.

• Cadet Anastasia Andreou           
• Cadet Max Dennis
• Cadet Molly Goodman
• Cadet Rafee Jabarin
• Cadet Ryan Quayum
• Cadet Katie Stokes
• Cadet George White
• LCpl Alicia Owen

BTEC Level 2 Diploma in Teamwork and Personal Development 

Cadets successfully completing the MOI course is a key component in achieving the Level 2 Diploma.  This qualification recognises practical skills learned and developed through CCF activity, including leadership, adventurous training, physical fitness, navigation and employment skills, and provides valuable recognition of “soft skills” such as teamwork, resilience and citizenship. 

• LCpl Samuel Bevis
• CSgt Alexandra Cardash-Crowsley
• LCpl John Claydon
• Cpl Tom Poole
• CSgt Amhar Shazuli
• CSgt Natalie Wigfield

Promotion of Tom Poole

Sergeant Poole joined the contingent in 2016 and after completing a challenging promotional course, where he ranked in the top third in 2018, was promoted to Lance Corporal. It became apparent he had a natural ability in the subject of first aid and went on to train and lead a successful team in the 2019 national first aid competition achieving the rank of Corporal.  Sergeant Poole has shown great initiative and drive in promoting first aid and is an accomplished instructor in all aspects of CCF training.

Commenting on the successful completion of these awards, Lt Jones, Senior Staff Instructor said: ‘As SSI, I am extremely proud of the contingent as it has once again demonstrated its ability to adapt and succeed in unprecedented times. I look forward to what the future holds for this contingent and have no doubt that the cadets and staff will tackle any and all obstacles head on.’

You can view further images from the awards event below.

Flickr album: KESBath CCF Awards Event 14 October 2020 | Height: auto | Theme: Default