Lord Lieutenant visits Buckingham St John Ambulance cadets

The Lord Lieutenant of Bucks was the guest of honour at an awards ceremony for Buckingham's St John Ambulance Cadet Unit last week.

Lady Howe talked to the cadets and presented the awards, then observed the activities of a normal weekly session.

Amy Haydock, aged 16, was chosen as the Lord Lieutenant's Cadet of the Year, and received a badge and a lanyard.

Other awards included two silver and two bronze Grand Prior Awards, and four Hours awards, where cadets have completed 100 hours outside of the unit meetings.

Buckingham has one of the largest St John Ambulance Cadet Units in England, with 67 cadets aged from 10 to 17 and 19 adults.

It is run by unit manager Shahid Qadar, a second-year medical student at the University of Buckingham, aged 21.

Having been a cadet himself since the age of 13, Shahid was one of the youngest unit managers in the St John Ambulance.

Also attending the awards ceremony on Thursday, March 10, were Deputy Mayor of Buckingham Warren Whyte, the St John's area manager, district manager, district youth lead, county president, county vice-president and the county chaplain.

Shahid said: "It was very good. All of our guests were getting hands-on talking to all of our cadets, it was really good to see the interaction there."

St John Ambulance cadets learn first aid, with internal and external first aid courses, and help provide first aid cover at events.

They also do special sessions around the theme of medical and healthcare, including fire safety, water safety and radio communication.

Cadets work towards achieving the Grand Prior Award, which is the major award within the St John Cadets and is normally presented by a member of the Royal Family.

The Grand Prior Award takes about four years to complete and requires cadets to work through a wide range of subjects, including first aid and event skills, St John Ambulance past and present, health and wellbeing, personal development and social action.

For more information about joining the St John Ambulance Cadet Unit in Buckingham, contact [email protected]