Four colleagues from DE&S’ Logistics, Commodities and Services Transformation (LCST) Team have received King’s Coronation Medals in recognition of their work on the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.

A total team of 20 comprised of DE&S, prime supplier Leidos and sub-suppliers Wye Dean Ltd and TVS were presented with individual Medals from the Chief of Defence Logistics and Support (CDLS), Vice Admiral Andy Kyte CB, during a ceremony at MOD Abbey Wood on Monday 18 November.

The team were awarded the Medals as a result of their instrumental involvement in commissioning, procuring and supplying essential and bespoke items including clothing, colours and standards for the Coronation last year.

Working as One Defence, they delivered approximately 24,000 ceremonial items and accoutrements for the event, including the new Royal Navy and Royal Air Force Colours, the new Grenadier Guards’ Colour and the new Life Guards’ Standard.

Also included were 1,000 rank badges, 5,000 cap badges, 67 Trumpeters’ gold state coats and many thousands of ceremonial jackets, trousers, white webbing and gloves; hundreds of cavalry ‘George Boots’, shoulder strap chain mail and 40 pith helmets.

The team worked at pace to ensure items were manufactured to represent the new crown and cypher of CRIII ahead of time, in order to be ready for the formal consecration at Buckingham Palace and ceremony at Westminster Abbey, on 6 May 2023.

The DE&S colleagues in receipt of King’s Coronation Medals are:

• Keith Robinson
• Robin McCleary
• Paul Acres
• Laurence Harvey

DE&S Medal recipient Paul Acres said:

“For me it was recognition of the contribution the team made to this momentous time in our history and represented the final closure of that. As someone who has not served, to be formally recognised means a huge amount and the medal gives me something to hand down to my daughter.”

The Medals act as a thank you gift from the nation to the individuals who made the historic service happen and to commemorate the special occasion.

DE&S Logistics Commodities and Services Director, John Farrow, was in attendance to congratulate the team. He said:

“I would like to say a huge congratulations to all those receiving their Medals. The delivery of all ceremonial items, on time and in full, was an unprecedented programme of work delivered inside highly compressed lead times and only achieved as a direct result of the significant and sustained team effort in the months leading up to the Coronation itself. The whole team can take enormous pride in having their achievements recognised in this way.”

The LCST contract, managed by DE&S, covers procurement of commodities including things like clothing, medical supplies and ration packs with Leidos as the strategic delivery partner.

Vice Admiral Andy Kyte CB, Chair of the LCST Board, and Functional Owner for Support, said:

“These medal recipients are an exemplar for Defence and industry working in partnership and delivering excellence, at pace. The delivery of so many ceremonial items on time and in full, to the exact specifications for such a high-profile event was truly impressive. The medal recipients deliberately represent all aspects of the partnership and the LCST team. A huge congratulations to all.”

The Medal design features a double portrait of The King and Queen Camilla on the front and a version of the Royal Cypher, a laurel wreath and the date of the Coronation on the reverse. The ribbon is made up of red, blue and white vertical stripes – the colours of the Union Flag and are made of nickel silver and plated in nickel.

A total of 400,000 Medals will be presented to individuals including Armed Forces personnel and frontline emergency service workers for their efforts to support the Coronation. The tradition dates back to the reign of King James I when the first Medal was awarded in 1603.