A Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet is chosen to assist the Lord Lieutenant with her duties for one year, which often involves being on parade for royal visits, attending Remembrance events and acting as an ambassador for their organisation and the county.

With the Covid-19 restrictions over the past year, sadly many of these official functions have been cancelled or moved to a virtual sphere.  As a change to normal precedent, some of the current Lord Lieutenant’s Cadets have also extended their role for a further year, which is a reflection of their continued achievements.

Her Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant for Essex, Mrs Jennifer Tolhurst, and Lt Col (Retd) Jackie Allan DL, gave thanks to the cadets for their service so far, and welcomed the new Lord Lieutenant’s Cadets to the fold.

This Lord Lieutenant’s Cadets for this year are:

• Cadet WO Lizzy Newsome, 276 (Chelmsford) Sqn RAF AC,
• Cadet SSgt Mathew Pearman WHSB CCF,
• Cadet SSgt Jack Shorey Chelmsford Det ACF,
• Leading Cadet Ben Allen TS Colne (Colchester Sea Cadets).

SJA  Ambulance Paige Oldfield will continue for a second year, as will ACF Cadet Sgt Leah Lambert and CWO Darius Zargaran RAF AC.

The Lord-Lieutenant explained: “It is likely to be difficult for many people to attend events in the next 2-3 months, while the lock down restrictions are still in force. We will try to give any early jobs to some of last year’s Lord Lieutenant’s Cadets, who never got to an event, as the first priority.”

Each of the new Lord Lieutenant’s Cadets gave the Lord Lieutenant a brief history of themselves, and she gave them an explanation with some photos of past events of what the Lord Lieutenant does.  Lt Col (Retd) Jackie Allan DL had sent them a copy of a booklet and a badge so they have an idea what to expect during their year in office.

Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet – CWO Lizzy Newsome – Air Cadets

Lizzy works for East Of England Ambulance Service as an Emergency Medical Technician and is training to be a Paramedic. She started this job in July 2020 after receiving A-levels in Performing Arts, Sociology and Law. She completed all her training and blue light driving and has been out on the road on shifts since October 2020. Her goals are to qualify as a Paramedic, join the RAF and return to volunteer as an adult instructor for the Air Cadets in the future. In her spare time, Lizzy is learning British Sign Language.

Lizzy joined the Air Cadets at age 12 and some of the highlights of her cadet experience include:

• attending camp in Florida, 
• going to a Buckingham palace garden party in 2019,
• standing as guard of honour at multiple events in London for members of the royal family and other VIP. 

Lizzy has achieved the rank of Cadet Warrant Officer and now, as a staff member, she tries to give younger cadets the same opportunities as she had. 

Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet – Leading Cadet Ben Allen – Sea Cadets

Ben is studying A-levels in Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Physics and Technology at Colchester Royal Grammar School. Despite the restrictions on activities due to coronavirus and periods of lockdown, he has tried to partake in as much as he can, including politics, history and aeronautical engineering societies, the Christian Union and playing rounders on many occasions.

Ben has been a Cadet for 7 years and some of the highlights from his time as a cadet include:

• attending a Sea Cadet and then tri-service adventure competition,
• shooting in Scotland,
• sailing TS Royalist in Portsmouth 
• leading his unit in a drill competition and visiting HMS Queen Elizabeth,
• following the path of the Royal Naval Brigade through France and Belgium,
• being the Colchester Mayor’s cadet(2019-2020).

He was selected to take part in the Naval Aviation Team(2020) and Tall Ships Race(2020), which were both cancelled due to coronavirus 

During the pandemic, Ben ran virtual sessions to teach cadets from his unit, and prepared new lesson plans in a national voluntary scheme to allow more types of lessons to be taught remotely. He also attended district sessions such as a leadership academy and an assessment board to be promoted to Leading Cadet.

In his spare time, he exercises and sees family and friends as much as possible. In the future, his goal is to become an Engineering Officer in the Royal Navy, and he has been in the selection process for a scholarship for this for two years.

Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet – Cadet Staff Sergeant Jack Shorey – Army Cadets

Jack is studying 4 A levels: Maths, Physics, Chemistry and History. He plays the guitar and raises money for charity in his spare time. Jack has been an Army Cadet for five years. Some of the highlights of his cadet experience include:

• Annual camp,
• STEM courses at Salisbury,
• winning military skills competitions,
• helping to train other cadets,
• taking part in charity events such as the Chelmsford Race for Life and the Basildon pride parade.

Jack added: “Over the last 5 years, the Army Cadets have given me the tools to shape and grow my confidence, self-motivation and courage which I have used to the best of my ability to blossom and therefore my personal growth is my biggest achievement of my ACF career.”

Jack is is working towards an army officer scholarship to help fund a university degree to read Physics. His goal is to become an Officer in the Army Air Corps, become a helicopter pilot and follow in the footsteps of Major Tim Peak.

Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet – Cadet Staff Sergeant Mathew Pearman – Combined Cadet Force 

Mathew is a pupil at Westcliff High School for Boys and he has risen quickly through the ranks to Cadet Staff Sergeant, dedicating significant amounts of time to his unit. He has attended every Remembrance Parade, Open Day, and public display that his school’s Combined Cadet Force has organised. 

For Mathew, the cadet experience is a way to channel his self-development into helping others, teaching, learning, and maintaining the spirit of the organisation. 

In his spare time, Mathew has earned a black belt in karate and built a successful tutoring business that serves students all over Essex at 11+ and GCSE level.

His goals are to achieve the rank of Cadet Regimental Sergeant Major before he goes to university. 

Each of these accomplished cadets was nominated by their adult instructors to perform the duties of Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet this year.

These cadets have each embraced the opportunities offered by the Cadet Forces in their unique way. They represent thousands of accomplished and aspirational young people who have unlocked their potential through the cadet experience.

The Lord Lieutenants in East Anglia are all keen supporters of the Cadet Forces. To find out more about how we have supported the cadet experience this year, view our annual report online.