The Craft Awards Luncheon is an important event in our Company’s calendar, at which we able to recognize the achievements of apprentices in our crafts. In recent years it has outgrown the capacity of Trinity House, where it has been held for some time, and so we have relocated to Carpenters Hall, a venue well known to our company as it is where we have for many years held a luncheon after the installation of our new Master.
At this, our last function before the lockdown resulting from the current Coronavirus pandemic, we were requested to bow when welcomed by the receiving line, instead of shaking hands; we were not to know at the time that far greater changes were to be required of us soon after!
After a splendid lunch of Smoked Haddock Timbale, Cannon of Lamb and Vanilla and Cinnamon Cake, with wines selected by our wine committee, and Loyal and Civic toasts, the guests were welcomed by the Master, followed by a response by our principal guest, Lt Col Mark Stephenson RE. After the toast to the Company proposed by the Junior Liveryman James Wheeler we then proceeded to the main business of the day, the presentation of awards.
There are three awards to the winners in the SkillBuild National finals.
The E&R Fuller award for bricklaying – Adam Batty, from Barnsley College (Course Tutor Michael Lindsay)
The Mason-Elliot Award for Roof slating and Tiling – there were two winners this year,
Jordan Condren from Newcastle College (Course Tutor Alan Bessford), and
Philip Haughton, from Eastern Roof Training (Course tutor Clive Coutts)
The Montgomery Award for Wall and Floor tiling
Dylan Calvert, from Southern Regional College (Course Tutor Master Craftsman Paul Doran)
The Stokes Royal Engineers Awards are made to the best trainees in Bricklaying and Concreting at the Royal School of Military Engineering; Class 2 is drawn from a pool of about 100 trainees, while Class 1 comes from a smaller group. The awards go to
Class 1 - Lance Corporal James Burd
Class 2 – Sapper Mark Jones.
The Company supports Royal Engineer badged cadet units in the London District.
Best Cadet was Cadet Jordan Miles; Best Adult Volunteer was Captain Mevindra Armon.
Our final award this year was the well-deserved recognition of Heritage Bricklayer Gerard Lynch as a Master Craftsman.
The event was concluded with a closing address from the Master, looking forward to our next events, which sadly were not to be as a result of the current pandemic.