Recently retired cadet, Flight Sergeant Hannah Gray has written a report regarding her experience as the West Midland’s Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet in 2018.
In April 2017 I was nominated by my OC, Flt Lt Heather Hart. Wing Commander Iles endorsed the application and the Lord Lieutenant’s Office, selected me to represent the Air Cadets for an entire 12 months as the Lord Lieutenants Cadet for the West Midlands. As a Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet, I am responsible for assisting the Lord Lieutenant while on his royal duties as well as accompanying the LL for that day making sure he is where he needs to be at the correct time. The Lord Lieutenant’s name is John Crabtree, he was appointed as LL at the same time as me, and so we started off together and learnt the ropes at the same time. He is the Queen’s representative, which means whenever there is a royal visit that the queen personally cannot attend then she will send the LL and one of his cadets to attend. He doesn’t come from a military background, he’s actually a Lawyer, and so he always turned to me to know when and when not to salute. I attended a number of events over the past year. My first event was Veteran’s Day, where I met a number of veterans from all of the armed services, some served in Egypt and some in Korea. My next event was the Birmingham Air Raid Remembrance Association day where I met and spoke to Barbara Johnson, Chairperson. Also, I attended one of the British Empire Medal presentations at the Town Hall where I met the Queen’s cousin Duke of Gloucester. Finally, I went to the Remembrance Sunday parade, at which I sat next to the Archbishop of Birmingham, which I was unaware of, until he was called up to take the service.
The personal benefits of being a LLC include having the opportunity to meet industry personnel which is really good if you are ambitious in a certain career path. I was lucky enough to meet members of the royal family and other VIP guests and had the opportunity to attend exclusive events, and when I was asked if I wanted to go to one of the Queen’s garden parties this year, of course I said yes! Finally being able to show off in your uniform and speak very highly of being an Air Cadet, most people surprisingly don’t know what we do so they were really interested when I explained what we do as an Organisation. I was extremely honoured and proud to be given this opportunity and I am sure the experience will stay with me for life. FS Hannah Gray 495 (Sutton Coldfield) Squadron
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