A Beds & Herts Army Cadet has received a national honour for her hard work to improve her local community—and even save lives—while facing serious health issues of her own.
Cdt Cpl Emilka Styczynska , from Hertfordshire, received the prestigious Distinguished Community Service Medal for Cadets this month—one of only three cadets across the UK to do so.
The award was made by the League of Mercy Foundation, a voluntary group originally founded as the League of Mercy in 1899 with the aim of establishing a large group of volunteers who could help in hospitals and support sick people.
With the advent of the NHS in 1948 that goal became less important, the League went into abeyance, but was re-established as a registered charity on the centenary of its original creation to honour exceptional volunteers for health, care and disability charities.
Today the League of Mercy Foundations provides honours for both health and care volunteers and—with involvement from the Army Cadet Charitable Trust (ACCT) UK—young people and adult volunteers in the cadet forces too. Only a small number of these honours (pictured above) are given out, so it reflects well on our region that one of this year’s three cadet recipients is a member of Beds & Herts Army Cadet Force (ACF).
Cdt Cpl Styczynska was initially put forward for League of Mercy Foundation recognition by Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire ACF’s Commandant. ACCT UK then drafted a formal nomination based on the Commandant’s words—in this case, praising Cdt Cpl Styczynska for showing, “extraordinary resilience through major health challenges, never missing a beat in cadet life — even saving lives while awaiting a kidney transplant”.
Her nomination also mentioned, “unwavering perseverance and courage in overcoming severe personal adversity throughout her cadet service, while inspiring and supporting her peers and consistently volunteering for community causes”—and that she had helped a number of people in need of first aid.
Dressed in her ACF uniform, Cdt Cpl Styczynska received her medal during the League of Mercy Foundations 2025 awards at the Mansion House in London. East Anglia sends its sincere congratulations to her and the other honoured cadets (pictured below with League of Mercy Foundation chair Lord Lingfield).
