A Lancaster University student and officer in the British Army Reserve has received a commendation in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours. Second Lieutenant Charlie Bradbury, a final year BA Politics and International Relations student, received the award for his imaginative and inspirational work during the pandemic. He was awarded the Commander Field Army Commendation for his “exceptional contribution to operational effectiveness” during the pandemic.
Born in Bolton, brought up in Preston and educated at Kirkham Grammar School, 2Lt Bradbury joined the Combined Cadet Force when he was 12. He was commissioned in 2019 from the Officer Training Centre at Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst and has been training with the 4th Battalion The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment whilst completing his undergraduate degree and hopefully also during his MA next year.
2Lt Bradbury designed and introduced several online and virtual training methods and platforms to support the continued professional development of junior commanders. He also stepped up two levels to lead 100 Army Reserve soldiers for eight months during the pandemic, at the onset of lockdown, and developed a training directive to allow Reserve training to continue virtually. This was adopted as best practice by his Infantry Brigade across the North West. He also developed a low-cost, virtual reality training simulator for Reserve commanders.
Upon receiving the news of his commendation, 2Lt Bradbury expressed he “was extremely surprised but very pleased to receive the award in the Queen’s Birthday Honours”. Bradbury went onto express that “Lancaster University and, in particular, the department have been so supportive of my work with the Army Reserve. They have been understanding and flexible and made things work for me. I feel very lucky to have such a ‘can-do’ institution supporting me.”
Article written by Anne Rothwell (Press Officer for FASS)
