Dorset army cadet wins the Westminster Award

Charlotte Bedford, a 17-year-old from Wimborne, has been named the nation’s top army cadet – recognised in Parliament for her kindness, grit and leadership

The prestigious Cadet Vocational College Westminster Award recognises young people aged 16 to 18 who have shown selflessness, community spirit and a commitment to going the extra mile. This year’s winner was Corporal Charlotte Bedford, a teenager from Wimborne, who received the honour at the House of Lords after a gruelling, months-long selection process.

Getting there
Charlotte has been an army cadet for four and a half years. She was nominated for her selfless work with younger cadets, mentoring a student who was bullied, and volunteering with the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal.
She also raised more than £4,000 in order to take part in a community project in Cambodia with Camp International.
‘I aged out of girl guiding and my friend asked me to go along to cadets for a bit of fun and a laugh. The Westminster Award is very competitive. The selection process starts with more than 2,000 people and you have to be nominated by your main adult instructor. Then, if you get through, you write a paragraph explaining why you think you’d be good for the role.’
The process becomes steadily tougher. ‘At the third stage, you’re down to the final 45 people and you come together for all sorts of team-building activities. For example, we did a gun run, which was great fun. We had to take the gun apart, put it back together, run with it, take it apart, and get it back together again.
Only 12 cadets are left for the final stage. We spent ten days away in Southampton, where we did sailing and velodrome cycling. Then we went to Wales and did caving and some other activities. Along the way we also met local charities such as the RNLI, and we also did a litter sweep in Southampton.’

ust a little further
Throughout the selection process, the cadets are continuously observed by the judges – on camera and off – to see how they behave under pressure. Finally, after such a gruelling set of events, all 12 finalists were invited to the House of Lords – which is where Charlotte discovered she was the winner, and was presented with the award by Lord Lingfield. What impressed the judges most was that, in their words, ‘Charlotte remained authentically herself, demonstrating kindness even when the cameras were turned off and the officials weren’t around.’

‘I was so surprised,’ she says. ‘It was really exciting. Everyone was saying well done. I also did a lot of volunteering for this award, and I went to Cambodia this year to help a community build toilets and wells. Next year I’m taking part in a project in Tanzania. One of the reasons elephants get killed is that they come too close to villages, and I’ll be helping to build a metal shield that deters them from getting into danger.’
After such a demanding process, Charlotte says she came away with a new mindset: ‘Just meeting everyone … the whole experience itself was fantastic. I have made friends for life. I had never done caving before, and it was really scary. But it shows that even when you think you have pushed yourself to the limit , you can always go that little bit further.’

Nursing ambition
Guy Horridge OBE, Principal and Chief Executive of Cadet Vocational College, praised her achievement: ‘Charlotte is a worthy winner of this year’s Westminster Award and I’m delighted for her, her family and Dorset ACF. The competition was tough, as it always is with so many excellent candidates, but Charlotte just had that extra something that means she is our winner this year.
‘At a time when many young people are viewed less than favourably, Charlotte epitomises what is good about young people, with her selfless commitment to her cadet organisation and other community activities.’
With such a prestigious award behind her, Charlotte is already thinking ahead. ‘I have done a lot of first aid training with the army cadets and it’s made me realise I’d like to be a nurse. I’m hoping to do an adult nursing course and I am interested in mental health. I’ll either apply for university and work in civvy street with the NHS or aim for Sandhurst and do officer training.’