From: Ms Tammy Mitchell, Communications Admin Officer

Our Ref: G1809/TLM

25th July 2017

See Distribution:

LORD-LIEUTENANT ADULT AWARD

SUBMISSION AND PRESENTATION INSTRUCTIONS

Introduction

  1. Each year in this Association's area the Lord-Lieutenants of North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, the East Riding of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire consider nominations for the Lord-Lieutenant Certificates for members of the Reserve and Cadet Forces who have given exceptional service beyond the normal call of duty. For the purpose of this instruction, where the Lord-Lieutenant is referred to as ‘he’, this will refer to the specific Lord-Lieutenant for the host unit, irrespective of gender.
  1. The Lord-Lieutenant Certificate is an award of high merit of which a recipient may be justly proud. It is intended to supplement Honours bestowed by HM The Queen in the New Year and Birthday Honours Lists and, in precedence, ranks immediately after such awards.
  1. The Certificate is in the form of a mounted and framed certificate signed by the Lord-Lieutenant of the County concerned and is normally presented by the Lord-Lieutenant at a ceremony hosted by a local unit.
  1. The presentation ceremony also provides the host unit with an opportunity to make use of the event as a Community Engagement vehicle for Military/Community Integration.
  1. This instruction appears in two parts:

Part ISubmission of citations for Lord-Lieutenant Certificates.

Part II Form of ceremony for the presentation of Lord-Lieutenant Certificates.

PART I - SUBMISSION OF CITATIONS

Eligibility for the Award

  1. Lord-Lieutenant Certificates may be awarded to any adult volunteer in the Reserve or Cadet Forces, of whatever rank, for outstanding service as long as they were serving on 1 March 2017. Civilian staff may be awarded Certificates in exceptional circumstances.
  2. Volunteers who are recommended should have served for at least seven years with the Reserve Forces. However, in exceptional circumstances, citations will be considered on their merits for individuals with less service.
  1. Length of service alone will not be accepted as sufficient grounds for an award. The main criteria should be their exceptional and outstanding service; their readiness to carry out routine tasks with zest and enthusiasm, as well as other jobs beyond their normal call of duty without thought of a special reward, their contribution to the unit as a whole and, if appropriate, to the local community.
  1. The Certificate may only be awarded once to the same individual.

Recommendations/Citations

  1. Recommendations are called for annually. They should be submitted on the proforma at Annex A to Headquarters RFCA for Yorkshire and The Humber by 20 OCTOBER 2017. Only the form on this set of instructions will be accepted, previous versions are no longer valid. Electronic forms can be issued upon request.
  1. There is no limit on the number of citations that will be considered. Generally speaking, however, units should consider one nomination per sub-unit. Where units forward more than one nominee, they should indicate an order of priority.
  1. Citations must be written in the third person and in a form suitable to be read out in public at the time of the presentation, should the certificate be granted. They should not exceed 250 words, but care should be taken to bring out all the characteristics and qualities which the nominee possesses and which give rise to the recommendation, giving special emphasis to the exceptional nature of the nominee's service and any noteworthy activities outside military duties. They should also detail the individual's current appointment in the unit. Where more than one individual is recommended, the citations should be suitably different as they will be read out in public by the Adjutant of the host unit or a senior representative of the recipient’s unit, should they be successful.
  1. The following points must be adhered to before submitting a recommendation to this Association:
  1. All citations must be typewritten on the form indicated in paragraph 10
  1. All details within the recommendation must be carefully checked with special emphasis on names, ranks and dates. This is a particularly important point for two reasons. First the information provided is the only basis on which the granting of a certificate will be approved. Second, if approved, the information shown in the recommendation will be used to provide the details for the certificate. If certificates are incorrect due to an error in the original citation it is highly unlikely that a new certificate can be issued.
  1. All citations should be signed personally by the Commanding Officer of the unit. Only in exceptional circumstances may the Commanding Officer delegate this authority. Scanned copies of signed citations sent via email will be accepted.

Selection Procedure

  1. Once all recommendations have been gathered at this headquarters, the Chief Executive and the Chairman of the Association will carefully consider each individual citation before recommending acceptance by the Lord-Lieutenant.
  1. When the Lord-Lieutenant’s approval has been obtained, the Chief Executive of the Association will write to each Commanding Officer and advise them whether or not their recommendations have been successful. At this point, RFCA will send the citations to host units. Aletter will also be sent out to all units involved giving brief details of presentation dates and venues. This correspondence is usually despatched annually in mid-January and it is at this point that the units concerned should inform recipients of their Lord-Lieutenant Certificate award.
  1. In the case of recommendations for units that fall within North and North East Lincolnshire, all citations will be forwarded from this headquarters to the East Midlands RFCA. Their selection takes place in February/March and Commanding Officers will be notified as soon as possible after this time.
  1. A recommendation that is unsuccessful does not debar the submission of a further recommendation for consideration in a subsequent year. Indeed, in the case of there being a large number of recommendations for the certificates, either the Association Chairman or the Lord-Lieutenant may ask for a nomination to be deferred until the following year. In such instances the recommendation will be held at this headquarters and returned to the unit at the time of the next trawl for nominations to ask whether or not the Commanding Officer still wishes to proceed with the recommendation.

Hosting of Presentation Evenings

  1. Units who are to host Presentation Evenings will be selected and agreed with the Chief Executive of this Association in August each year. Further details on the evenings appear in Part II of these instructions.
  2. A check list has been provided for host units at Annex E. This should be used as a guide for host units, along with this set of instructions, to assist with preparation for the awards.

Finance

  1. Host units will receive a specific allocation of funds to cover all the costs of the presentation evening based on the number of recipients plus a standard grant. The Association will pay separately for the printing and framing of the certificates.

PART II - FORM OF CEREMONY FOR THE PRESENTATION
OF LORD LIEUTENANT CERTIFICATES

General

  1. The presentation of Lord-Lieutenant Certificates is a formal occasion at which the Lord-Lieutenant of the respective county presents his awards to members of the Reserve and Cadet Forces in person. Such occasions are extremely important to recipients and their guests and are also a time to show the host unit in the best possible light, very often with coverage by local media. The following details form a tried and tested template for the presentation. Host units may add their own ideas to the evening, but must follow these guidelines for the actual formal presentation.

Date and timings of the Presentations

  1. Host units will be approached in August/September to provide a selection of dates during March and April of the following year, when they may hold the presentation evening. This Association will then co-ordinate all the dates and approach the respective Lords-Lieutenant to check their availability. The Association will then confirm dates with all concerned.

The following timings must be adhered to:

1900 hrs Recipients arrive (for briefing)

1930Guests arrive

1940*Ld-Lt arrives and is welcomed by CO & Chairman RFCA

1945Guests called to sit (welcome brief, no photos, mobiles etc.)

1950Ld-Lt takes his/her seat

RFCA (Y&H) Chairman welcomes Ld-Lt & guests

2000Presentation begins

Additional awards/certificate’s to be presented if applicable Presentation ends
Ld-Lt’s Speech
CO’s closing remarks
O/CBuffet supper (Lord-Lieutenant and recipients remain behind

for photographs)

*Once the Lord-Lieutenant has arrived, they should be shown to a separate room where they can briefly meet the recipients before the evening begins.

The timings after 2000 are dependent on the number of recipients although it can be assumed that each recipient will take four minutes from reading the citation to returning to their seats.

Briefing Session

  1. Prior to the presentation, Adjutants of host units will be invited to attend RFCA headquarters where there will be a discussion on the setting up of the evenings. From this point the host unit takes over the full responsibility for the evening from sending out the invitations and instructions through to organising the presentation ceremony and the buffet supper afterwards. The Association staff will, however, be more than happy to offer advice if required.

Liaison with the Lord-Lieutenant

  1. After the Adjutants' briefing, host units should ensure that they liaise fully with the respective Lord-Lieutenant's office and provide the Lord-Lieutenant with a detailed brief giving a full programme of the evening's events including the Lord-Lieutenant's own timings, a full list of invited guests and a map clearly showing the venue and giving any necessary directions. This should be sent to the Lieutenancy Office at least four weeks before the date of the presentation, with a copy to Communications Officer (CommsO) RFCA Y&H.

Use of Lord-Lieutenant Cadets

  1. Each Lord-Lieutenant has up to three Lord-Lieutenant Cadets who are nominated on an annual basis. Host units should liaise with the respective Lord-Lieutenant to see which of his Cadets should attend the evening. Host Units should liaise with the Cadets in finding them a specific task on the evening, such as passing certificates to the Lord-Lieutenant for presentation. One previously successful option is for the Cadets to escort the Lord-Lieutenant into the Presentation Hall.

Certificates

  1. This Association will co-ordinate the printing and framing of the certificates and deliver them to the host unit on the evening of the presentation. The Association can also make available copies of the recipients' citations for the host units’ information on the evening of the presentation.

Invitations

  1. Invitations to the presentation evenings should fall under two categories "official" and "private" and should be issued in the usual host unit format approximately six weeks before the presentation takes place. Partners should be included on the invitations.
  1. The official guests should include the following:
  1. The Association Chairman

Vice Chairmen

Chief Executive

Deputy Chief Executive
Head of Engagement
Communications Officer

Brigade Commander plus equivalent of Royal Navy and RAF, as appropriate

  1. All Commanding Officers and Commandants of units involved
  1. Any sub unit commanders of units involved
  1. Representative(s) of the recipients’ employer (recipients are to be encouraged to make these invitations; details will be ascertained by a PR questionnaire sent to recipients by RFCA Comms Team.)
  1. Local civic dignitaries, as seen fit by the host unit

The host unit should also ensure that enough unit personnel are on hand to greet and usher people to seats, etc.

  1. Private guests should be restricted as far as possible to spouse/partner plus two guests for each recipient. Should recipients wish to bring more guests, this may be allowed at the host unit's discretion. Children below the age of 10 may attend at the host unit’s discretion. It should be noted that if a recipient wishes his employer (and partner) to attend, this is in addition to his family members and guests.

Instructions

  1. The unit should issue a full set of instructions for the presentation evening at least four weeks prior to the occasion. This should include information on the dress code (Annex D), a detailed programme of the evening's events, an official guest list, a list of recipients, and a map clearly showing the venue and giving any necessary directions.

Music - Band

  1. RFCA will source the band for the presentation. Should units wish to utilise their own band they are to contact RFCA CommsO NO LATER THAN 29 SEPTEMBER 2017.

Layout of the Presentation Hall

  1. An example of the layout of the presentation hall is given at Annex C. The following points should be considered:
  1. There should be a chair for the Lord-Lieutenant and the Commanding Officer in case they wish to sit down at any time during the presentation.
  1. The central table should be decorated with unit colours, silver or a flag.
  1. There should be a lectern to the side of the central table from which the Adjutant may read the introduction to the evening and then the citations afterwards.
  1. The recipients should be seated with their guests. It is suggested that they are placed at the outer edge of the seating rows to facilitate easy passage to the front. A seating plan should be made available.
  1. The hall should be decorated with occasional flower arrangements, etc.

Format of Presentation Evening

  1. All private guests should be assembled together in one area so that they can be easily shown through into the presentation hall.
  1. All recipients of the certificate should be fully briefed prior to the presentation commencing. Once the unit brief has taken place recipients will have a final PR brief from the RFCA CommsO.
  1. All guests should be greeted and given assistance in finding their seats.
  1. The Lord-Lieutenant should be greeted by the Chairman of the Association or his representative and the Commanding Officer of the host unit, and there should be either a fanfare or guard of honour upon his arrival. The Lord-Lieutenant should then be taken to a separate room or quiet area where he can meet the recipients before the event commences.

Presentation

  1. The presentation, which should be in the style of an investiture, will commence once the Lord-Lieutenant has been shown to his seat or place at the front of the hall. The Adjutant will have asked the audience to stand for his arrival and the playing of the General Salute. He will follow this up by then asking them all to be seated.
  1. The presentation should then proceed as follows:
  1. The Adjutant should introduce the Chairman of the Association (or his representative) who will open the presentation by welcoming the Lord-Lieutenant and the guests. The Chairman will then hand back to the Adjutant.
  1. The Adjutant will indicate for the Lord-Lieutenant to stand and then begin by reading out a brief explanation of the awards (Annex B). The Adjutant will then either ask for the senior representative of the first recipient to come forward or he will begin reading the citation. The Adjutant/representative will then read the first recipient's name. The recipient will stand. The Adjutant/senior representative will then read out the respective citation, at the end of which he will again read out the recipient's name. The recipient will come QUIETLY to attention, walk forward, salute the Lord-Lieutenant and shake his hand and then take the certificate. They will then step back, salute the Lord-Lieutenant once more and return to their seat (Applause). The senior representative will then return to his seat and the Adjutant will call for the senior representative for the next recipient (if applicable). This process will be repeated for each recipient.

It should be noted that the order of receipt should be descending rank order and then in alphabetical order. Reserve Forces recipients first, followed by Cadet Services. In each case in the order of Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army, Royal Air Force.

  1. Other awards and certificates may be presented at this stage.
  1. Once the certificates have all been presented, the Adjutant will invite the Lord-Lieutenant to say a few words. The host unit should check with the Lord-Lieutenant prior to the evening that he is willing to do this.
  1. The Adjutant will then introduce the Commanding Officer of the host unit who will then conclude the presentation by thanking the Lord-Lieutenant and inviting the guests to the buffet supper.
  1. The Adjutant will ask the audience to stand for the National Anthem. Following the anthem, he will ask the recipients and their families to remain for the official photographs with the Lord-Lieutenant and ask all the other guests to proceed to the buffet supper.
  1. Following the photographs the Commanding Officer will escort the Lord-Lieutenant to join the rest of the guests where the buffet supper and drinks should be served, giving the Lord-Lieutenant and the official guests the opportunity to meet and talk informally to all.

Presentation of Additional Awards