Red carpet awards take place at RAF Shawbury

With the stage in place and the red carpet laid, the ARIES Awards came to RAF Shawbury last Thursday for the second awards evening, presenting Awards for Recognition of Innovation, Excellence and Service (ARIES).

The ARIES Awards Evening is named in tribute to one of the great moments in aviation history when a Lancaster PD 328, known as ARIES, left Shawbury on 21st October 1944 under the command of Wing Commander D C McKinley DFC AFC with a crew of nine. The mission was to fly around the world and return to RAF Shawbury, and in so doing, became the first British aircraft to fly round the globe.

Over a period of 2 months, the crew covered over 36,000 nautical miles and flew a total of 202 hours, returning to Shawbury on 14 December. This was an extraordinary feat, not least because they crossed enemy territory, unarmed at a time when the threat was still present and V2 rockets were falling on London, but also because it was a flight into the unknown, never having been done before.

The ARIES awards have a lot in common with the ARIES mission of 1944 and the qualities exhibited by the ARIES crew in completing the mission are the same qualities that were recognised by the ARIES awards - commitment, determination, a capacity for innovation when faced with a challenge, and a dedication to duty which puts the Service before oneself.

The Station Commander, Group Captain Jason Appleton was delighted to welcome honoured guests including Mr John Giffard CBE QPM DL Master Draper of the Worshipful Company of Drapers, London, Mr Roland Wycherley Chairman of Shrewsbury Town Football Club, Mr Peter Ackerley, Head of National Football Development for the Football Association, Mr Richard Cox, Manager of the Shropshire Cricket Board, Mr Micky Mellon, Shrewsbury Town Manager and Mr Keith Riches, Cobham Base Manager.

The winners were announced and presented with their awards.

Flight Lieutenant Fay Jordan was awarded the Sporting Achievement Award. She competes in the Enduro World Cycling Series and is currently ranked 21st in the world. Fay also races for a team of select elite riders at the very forefront of the sport’s development. After competing in 4 out of 5 rounds, she is also currently ranked 5th in the UK National Series.

Mr Tony Kinchley was nominated as the Fundraiser of the Year. Mr Kinchley is a founder member of the RAF Shawbury based charity “Taking Football to Africa and Beyond”, which has distributed almost 120,000 items to 50 countries. He regularly participates in the annual “Great North Run” in support of the “Get Kids Going” charity, which provides manual wheelchairs for children with disabilities, and he recently cycled coast to coast (Whitehaven to Tynemouth) in support of Breast Cancer, raising over £2000.

Mr Robin Wilkinson was presented with the trophy for the Most Outstanding Contribution to Defence (Civilian), awarded to a civilian employee who through innovative thinking has inspired change, resulting in a significant improvement to the output of their Squadron. Since taking on the role of the Squadron Assistant Training Officer, Mr Wilkinson has provided first class support to Squadron’s busy training cell ensuring that the high quality of training has been maintained.

Corporal Andy Dale was awarded the Most Outstanding Contribution to Defence (Military). This is awarded to a military employee who through innovative thinking has inspired change. Corporal Dale improved the way that locations of new obstructions and hazards within RAF Shawbury’s Low Flying Area are reported to aircrew, the Defence Geographic Centre and the Low Flying Operations Squadron.

The Special Achievement Award was presented to Major Dan McBride, an individual who has overcome adversity to inspire others through his achievements. Major McBride is the Shropshire Co-ordinator for the Walking With The Wounded Charity and dedicates much of his spare time to increasing the awareness of, and raising funds for this cause.

The Unsung Hero Award is awarded to the person who has made a substantive yet unrecognised contribution that has not been formally acknowledged. Mrs Jill King has been employed in the Officers’ Mess at RAF Shawbury for over 35 years. Primarily responsible for the ‘Silver Room’, Mrs King is meticulous in her attention to detail and management of what is considered to be a very valuable historical collection.

The Station Commander’s Award was presented to the individual who the Station Commander chose personally to recognise from the nominations received. Flight Lieutenant Ken Stuart has been an outstanding teacher at the Central Air Traffic Control School for decades. He has stood out for all the best reasons and has made a significant contribution to the successful graduation of many hundreds of students.

The Commandant Defence Helicopter Flying School (DHFS) Award was awarded to the individual who Commandant DHFS chose personally to recognise from the nominations received. Mr David Evans has had an outstanding career as a Qualified Helicopter Crewman Instructor amassing over 9000 flying hours. Retiring after 35 years of courageous and dedicated service, he leaves a real legacy behind.

The Most Outstanding Individual Award was awarded to the individual who has made the most outstanding contribution to RAF Shawbury and the surrounding area over the past year. Cpl Gregg Williams has developed into an outstanding instructor. He is also extremely active in the community as the Station’s engagement representative to the Stoke-on-Tern Parish Council. In addition, he has set up a Food Bank at RAF Shawbury in support of a local church initiative.

The final award presented was the Lifetime Achievement Award, awarded to an individual to recognise contributions over the whole of a career. Mr Tony MacGregor has had an extraordinary career as a pilot and Qualified Helicopter Instructor spanning more than 50 years. Mr MacGregor has flown an unprecedented number of aircraft types including: Whirlwind, Sioux, Gazelle, Wessex, Seaking, Puma, Chinook, Griffin, Bell (205, 212 and 222), Hillier 12, Hughes (269 and 500), Sykorsky S76, Mi (2, 8 and 17) and AS350. During his career he has amassed more than 12300 flying hours of which more than 7800 are instructional. A true gentleman, he has for decades calmly encouraged and mentored generation after generation of student pilots. His talent for teasing the absolute best out of his students is unsurpassed and has gained him the uttermost respect across the aviation community. It is not an exaggeration to say that every helicopter operator in the whole of the RAF today has in some way directly benefitted as a result of his experience and expertise.

Group Captain Jason Appleton said:” I was hugely impressed by the number of nominations submitted, all of which were reflective of the many highly motivated and talented people who work at RAF Shawbury. Whilst all are deserving of recognition, my congratulations to the worthy winners of this year’s Awards. I would also like to thank our Sponsors, the Drapers’ Company, ISS Facility Services (Defence), and Cobham Aviation Services for making this ARIES Award Evening such a special occasion.”