Fifteen-year-old Westbury schoolboy George Turner has been voted the St John Ambulance Cadet of the Year in Wiltshire.
George, who is studying for his GCSEs at Matravers, was picked as the representative of Wiltshire’s 190 St John cadets after an arduous selection process.
He will now be an ambassador for Wiltshire St John Ambulance at various events over the next year, including a reception at Buckingham Palace in March and the St John’s Day Service at St Paul’s Cathedral in June.
The Cadet of the Year competition took place on Sunday 11th October, and included a uniform inspection, group task, interview and a presentation to the panel of judges.
George, from Bratton said, “It was a long day, the presentation was the hardest part, we didn’t know what we were going to be talking about before, and then we had an hour to prepare.”
George had the topic of the deployment of British and American troops in Afghanistan, and delivered his talk to the three judges concluding that something needed to be done soon to avoid the conflict dragging on.
He said, “The talk was only to three people [the judges] which wasn’t too bad but it was still hard because I knew they were judging me. When they told me I had won I was quite shocked, I thought ‘It can’t be me’, I couldn’t believe it.”
George added that he was looking forward to being the St John Ambulance Cadet of the Year for Wiltshire. In February he will travel to Nottingham for the national finals, undergoing the same selection process against cadets from all over the country.
Lily Munday, divisional leader at Westbury Division, nominated George to be Cadet of the Year.
She said, “I am very proud to have George in the Westbury unit and have enjoyed working with him ever since he first joined our Badger group. Back then he was part of the team that won the national Badger competition.
“Apart from being a great help to me in looking after the Westbury cadet group, he has already achieved his Grand Prior Award, has been promoted to corporal, and is chair of the county youth council. Winning the county Cadet of the Year competition is the real icing on the cake”
George has been a member of St John Ambulance since he was eight, first as a Badger and now as a cadet. He wants to become a paramedic, and plans to study paramedic science at university.
He said that the appeal of being a paramedic was being able to help people in trouble.
George added, “I’d like to thank Lily Munday for always helping since I started, and also my parents for being behind me.”
Pictured: George proudly displays his Cadet of the Year award.
