Military Affiliates Awards

Endeavour Award

The Company awards a prize annually to each of its Military Affiliates, to encourage outstanding service above that normally expected from a member of that unit. The exact criteria for the award are agreed between the Company and the Unit Commanding Officer at the time of the presentation. The recipient is chosen by the Unit Commanding Officer and each year the prize is presented by the Master, or one of the Court.

The current recipients of these awards are:

135 Geographical Squadron Royal Engineers (V):

Lance Corporal Nortje

Lance Corporal Nortje joined the Squadron in May 2016 and in that short period has immersed himself into the Squadron. In the period since joining the Squadron, which is little over 30 months, he has completed his Initial Training, Combat Engineer at the Foundation Level and the Geographic Technicians Course at the Intermediate Level. He is one of the regular attendees on a Tuesday evenings Drill Night is also regular attendee at weekends, to highlight such he participated in the Festival of Remember at the Albert Hall in November 2017 and the following day attended the Act of Remembrance here at Ewell. More recently Lance Corporal Nortje also represented the Squadron at the Freedom of St Ives parade. In addition to attending the normal training events, both at Weekends and Drill Nights Lance Corporal Nortje has also given his time attending numerous recruiting events.

Lance Corporal Nortje has shown himself as an outstanding person within his Troop and not one to hide in the shadows. He is reliable, trustworthy and is technically very good to the extent that members of the Permanent Cadre rate him above some of his more senior cohort. As an example of his willingness to go above and beyond he was awarded an Adventurous Training Expedition to Canada for his efforts and commitment to the Squadron generally. Apart from all the activities above Lance Corporal Nortje is also a very keen supporter of the Squadron Formal Social Functions and informal troop cohesion both in the Brunssum Club and outside of the Squadron.

For the reasons given and many more, it is with great pleasure that Lance Corporal Nortje is awarded the Endeavour Award.

The Master (Digby Flower) presents the Endeavour Award to LCpl Nortje

7010 Photographic Interpretation Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force:

Flt Lt Matt Byrnes

The 2016 Surveyors’ Plate is awarded to someone who has shown significant commitment in mobilising for 12 months to RAF Marham. As a mission commander he was in charge of a tight-knit team supporting Operation SHADER. His display of professionalism in coolly managing his missions was second to none and was rightly acknowledged with an AOC’s commendation in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List. He displayed the same level of professionalism throughout his mobilisation, gaining the respect of the whole of the Wing at RAF Marham and thereby raising the profile of Reserves. In recognition of his professionalism and performance as mission commander, the Surveyors’ Plate was awarded to Flt Lt Byrnes by Honorary Air Commodore (HAC) Patman on 8 Oct 2016.

Full list of RAF awards:

HMS Echo:

PO Oldroyd

PO Oldroyd is recommended for the WCCS RN survey award for 2015 in recognition of her outstanding work in the survey department, going above and beyond her core duties which have directly contributed to the overall operational efficiency of HMS ECHO.

A strong RN advocate and credible leader, Oldroyd is compassionate and dependable. She constantly leads by example and ensures that her subordinates are well supported. Oldroyd has a firm handle on all technical and practical aspects of her role onboard. An accomplished surveyor and Navy professional; Oldroyd constantly seeks out opportunities to increase her professional knowledge and developments in surveying techniques.

Oldroyd effortlessly balances manpower requirements and clearly articulates training requirements as the Warfare Department Coordinator, ensuring the smooth running of the department and maximising ECHO’s OC. Oldroyd has displayed outstanding leadership and commitment throughout 2015, taking on additional responsibilities in the absence of a Chief Senior Rate and Operations Officer, performing admirably and well above her expected core roles and responsibilities.

Whilst recent opportunities for survey work have been limited due to changes to ECHO’s operational tasking, Oldroyd has continued to drive the training and development of the Ship’s survey systems ensuring that a core capability is maintained to professional standards. Oldroyd drives others to fulfil their potential, encouraging personnel to take on a mentoring approach when dealing with subordinates. In this way she ensures the team functions well as a whole and is not reliant on any one individual for key skills.

PO Oldroyd should be justifiably proud of her achievements in 2015, which are in the finest traditions of the Royal Navy.