Awards & Appointments for 1324 Squadron

On Thursday, 26 September, Flying Officer Thomas Sugden and Cadet Warrant Officer Emily Edmiston were honoured by the Lord-Lieutenant of the East Riding of Yorkshire at a ceremony at Middleton Barracks, Hull.

The Lord-Lieutenant, who is His Majesty the King’s personal representative in the county, bestowed two prestigious honours upon members of 1324 (Hawker Blackburn) Squadron as their families and senior representatives from the cadet forces and armed services watched on.

Flying Officer Sugden was recognised for 8 years of exemplary service to the RAF Air Cadets, covering numerous responsibilities such as squadron adjutant, sector senior non-commissioned officer, deputy wing music officer, wing shooting officer, squadron executive officer and training officer, and regional weapons instructor.

Officer Commanding 1324 Squadron, Flt Lt Clifford-Roper-Smith said of Thomas’ achievements:

“To hold down any one of these volunteer roles requires a great deal of commitment. To hold down multiple roles, as Thomas often has, all while delivering an enviable quality of training for staff and cadets alike is remarkable, to say nothing of the work he has done helping to forge great working relationships with our colleagues in the Army Cadet Force who we hope will soon also benefit from our new air rifle range - another initiative he has helped drive.
“We are immensely fortunate to have him on the team and this reward, which is second only to medallic recognition in the national honours list, is very much deserved.”

Accompanied by proud family, Flying Officer Sugden said:

“I’m very proud to have received the award. I love my role in the cadets and I feel very humbled to be recognised for all I have done.”

Cadet Warrant Officer Emily Edmiston was recognised for her exemplary leadership as a senior cadet non-commissioned officer with 1324 Squadron, where she has developed our highly-successful recruit intake programme and also teaches cadets from across the county at the Wing Aerospace Centre, using virtual reality to familiarise junior cadets with the basics of winch-launched and powered flight.

Emily was also praised for her voluntary work in the community, where she supports the Brownies and an oncology ward, amongst other good causes.

**Emily presents her cadet journey as the Lord-Lieutenant watches on.**

Speaking of what it meant to be appointed the Lord-Lieutenant’s Cadet, Emily reflected:

“When I first joined the squadron, the senior cadet I looked up to was incredibly successful and was also a Lord-Lieutenant’s Cadet. To now think that I may be inspiring today’s generation of new cadets means a huge amount.
“I really look forward to supporting the Lord-Lieutenant in his official duties over the next year.”

Speaking of Emily’s success, OC 1324 Squadron said:

“Emily is a remarkable young adult and an indispensable member of my leadership team. Her recent promotion to the rank of cadet warrant officer is testament to the role she plays in leading and developing our junior cadets, while this appointment is fitting recognition of her commitment to the wider organisation and the community in which we are based. She made such an excellent candidate precisely because she embodies the values of the Lieutenancy.
“She absolutely deserves her successes and I know she’ll feel right at home supporting the great work of the Lieutenancy.”