Major Wendy Thomas and Colour Sergeant John D Owen have been awarded a Lord Lieutenant’s Certificate of Merit by Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Gwynedd Mr. Edmund Bailey Esq.
Major Wendy Thomas joined the Amlwch Detachment of Clwyd and Gwynedd ACF in January 2013. She undertook her initial adult training within months of coming on strength and shortly afterward was promoted to the rank of Sergeant Instructor.
In March 2014 she was appointed an Adult Under Officer and started to work towards a Cadet Forces Commission. In August of 2014, she was appointed as the Detachment Commander of Amlwch Detachment where she remained until August 2017 when she was appointed Company Staff Officer of Martinique Company (Adult Training).
In February 2015 she attended the Cadet Forces Commissioning Board and was promoted to the rank of Second Lieutenant and upon successfully completing her two-year probationary period was promoted to Lieutenant in February 2017.
Wendy’s sterling work as the Area Staff Officer for Martinique Company which looks after Adult Training saw her further promoted in March 2019 to the rank of Captain, she was subsequently appointed as Officer Commanding Martinique Company in December 2019. Wendy has recently been appointed the Officer Commanding Minden Company which covers the area from Caernarfon to Tywyn in Gwynedd.
During the Covid-19 lockdown, Wendy has been instrumental in ensuring that those adults who have recently joined the ACF did not fall behind with their training. Indeed she set up Google Classrooms for all levels of Adult Training to allow adults to continue with their initial training. This was a considerable task that has benefited a good number of Adult Volunteers.
Colour Sergeant Instructor John Owen is a committed Cadet Force Adult Volunteer within Minden Company. He is the Detachment Commander in Caernarfon and has successfully recruited and built the detachment strength so that it is a really thriving and active detachment.
John is proactive at arranging interesting and varied syllabus training, with regular liaison and interest sessions arranged by him with representatives from the Welsh Guards and 3rd Battalion The Royal Welsh. John routinely attends Company training weekends, leading the delivery of basic cadet instruction. His approach to these young people is fantastic to behold and results in highly motivated cadets who enjoy achieving their basic training goals.
During the lockdown, John has been active in arranging activities and interest sessions and has delivered virtual training sessions for cadets at the company level.
Commandant Col M L Craven congratulated Wendy and John on their awards which recognise their considerable efforts.
