Lt L Johnson presented with Lord-Lieutenant's Certificate for Meritorious Service

Lt L Johnson, Head Royal Navy Section at the Stamford Schools, has been presented with Lord-Lieutenant's Certificate for Meritorious Service for her work through the Covid-19 pandemic.For more information, please scroll down to report provided by Contingent Commander, T C Heyworth, Squadron Leader RAF Air Cadets.Report provided by T C Heyworth:"Initially starting her volunteer service in the Army Section. Lt Johnson quickly established herself as a highly capable and innovative officer. Always seeking new challenges and ways to develop cadets and other CFAVs she played a pivotal role in the CCF’s shooting programme. Much of her work involved travelling to Bisley to support cadets participating in national and international full bore shooting competitions. Without her boundless energy and keen eye for administrative detail it is highly unlikely that the school would have achieved the success it did in individual and team competitions."As a keen archivist Lt Johnson also turned her attention to the school’s former pupils and teachers who fell during the First World War. Lt Johnson researched the circumstances surrounding their deaths and where possible visited their graves in the UK and Europe. Where graves could not be visited personally, Lt Johnson endeavoured to have the graves visited and photographed by in country staff. The output from Lt Johnson’s comprehensive research was a biography, with supporting documents and photographs, for each of the 54 fallen. This work concluded during the Stamford Endowed School’s centenary year. Keen to ensure that her research reached the widest possible audience Lt Johnson also organised First World War battlefield tours for pupils and CCF staff. During these tours pupils laid wreaths on former pupils graves and actively participated in the evening memorial ceremony at the Menin Gate Memorial; parading with the contingent banner and Union Flag."The unexpected departure of the Contingent Commander and the premature retirement of the School Staff Instructor (SSI) required Lt Johnson to take the lead for all matters CCF. Lt Johnson’s first task was to plan, organise and deliver the CCF’s Inspection Day in March. Traditionally this event had been conducted on the school site and had been completed in about 2 hours. However, Lt Johnson and her team deployed over 200 cadets to Burghley Park for an entire day. The event proved to be the most ambitious and successful Inspection Day that the CCF had conducted for many years. Feedback from VIP visitors and most importantly the cadets, was universally positive. Lt Johnson set the bar for all future events."Immediately after the Inspection Day the country went into lockdown. Lt Johnson, a Maths teacher, now had to juggle the demands of remote teaching and socially distanced working with maintaining the CCF in suspended animation pending the resumption of face-to-face CCF activities.  Lt Johnson undertook all the administrative tasks needed to ensure that the CCF could re-emerge after lockdown. One of her key tasks was to ensure that all the Year 9 pupils who wished to enrol in the CCF at the start of the new academic year were able to do so. This required Lt Johnson to send hundreds of emails to parents and to co-ordinate the ordering and supply of over one thousand items of clothing. Lt Johnson’s diligence and fortitude ensured that each new cadet had the correct uniform at the start of the new academic year. It is testament to Lt Johnson’s continuous engagement with parents and meticulous planning that the CCF’s strength is now greater than when she took over. Lt Johnson has also seen numbers rise in her own section, bucking a significant national decline in Royal Navy cadet numbers. This is all the more remarkable, as Lt Johnson transferred from the Army Section to the Royal Navy Section six months earlier!"In tandem with the events already described Lt Johnson was responsible for inducting the new SSI into the ways of the school and the CCF. Once again, Lt Johnson gave up considerable amounts of her own time to work with the SSI. The untimely retirement of the previous SSI, owing to ill heath, had prevented much of the CCF’s routine administration from being done. Lt Johnson ensured that critical administrative tasks such as weapons storage/licencing and the management of public funds remained lawful. At one point she was granted a temporary firearms licence by the Home Office. Once the SSI was able to take over the routine administration of the CCF Lt Johnson refocussed her efforts towards supporting the new Contingent Commander. As the new Contingent Commander, I received unwavering backing and encouragement from Lt Johnson. No question was too trivial and no email languished in her in box."After a term of operating under Covid-19 restrictions I can affirm that the Stamford Endowed Schools’ CCF is in rude health.  All cadets have received at least 50% of their normal training, whilst records have been set for weekend and out of hours training. This success can be directly attributed to the foundations laid by one person – Lt Lorraine Johnson."