A YOUNG person from Crediton has been recognised for his service to the community.

Tom Mann (18), was presented with the 2018 Jamie Fleming Memorial Award, presented annually to an outstanding local young person.

The presentation ceremony was held at Crediton Army Cadet Force headquarters adjoining Crediton Fire Station in Charlotte Street.

Award trustee Ian Sneddon welcomed everyone to the event and former five-times Mayor of Crediton, Mrs Gillian Ponsford, explained why the award was presented annually.

Mrs Ponsford, who launched the award some years ago, said that the annual award was presented in memory of Jamie Fleming.

Lance Corporal Jamie Fleming, from Spinning Path Gardens, Crediton, spent four-and-a-half years in the Army, in the Royal Signals and had a distinguished career but tragically died following a road accident.

Jamie was a pupil at Hayward’s Primary School and Queen Elizabeth’s in Crediton before attending Exeter College and his military training.

Mrs Ponsford gave the audience more details about Jamie and his career and Mr Sneddon then gave some details about this year’s award recipient, Tom Mann.

ABOUT TOM

He explained that Tom, who is training to be a primary school teacher, became interested in becoming a teacher after he stepped into a classroom full with nearly 100 Ugandan children while volunteering in the north of Uganda, working in primary schools with children who, without the support of the charity Edukid, could not afford to go to school.

Tom has fundraised for the charity and practically helped children through his voluntary work.

Tom said that through education, he hopes the children will be able to break the cycle of poverty.

Tom is currently completing an EPQ on the use of the humanities subjects in primary schools, visiting many local primaries to establish how schools use such subjects.

Tom has swum at county level and still competes at local meetings and has also competed at national level in Tae Kwon Do, having won national medals in both Sparring and Pattern disciplines.

Tom is now a volunteer teacher of swimming and tae kwon do to give something back to the community.

The award, and a replica keepsake, were presented by Lt Col Leigh Skelton, Commandant, Devon ACF and Mr Stewart Fleming, Jamie’s father.

ABOUT JAMIE

Despite his young age, Jamie Fleming had a highly-regarded military career.

Born in Milton Keynes, the Fleming family moved to Crediton when Jamie was aged one and he attended both Hayward’s Primary School and Queen Elizabeth’s in Crediton. He then went to Exeter College with the Army’s Further Education Bursary scheme.

He was the first young person in the South West to achieve this (as reported in the "Courier" at the time) doing a sports-based course.

He received £1,000 after completion of his course and then another £1,000 after completion of his Army basic training at Pirbright Training Centre.

Jamie was the youngest recruit of that in-take, going off at 17 years, three weeks and five days (which was the exact age his dad was when he joined the Army).

He was the third generation soldier to join the Royal Signals, after his paternal grandfather and father.

Whilst at Pirbright he won the Drill Medal for best at drill in his platoon. He then went to Blandford Camp, Dorset to train as a Communications Systems Operator.

Following this he went to Chicksands, Bedfordshire for further specialist training as an Electronic Warfare Operator.

He was promoted to Lance Corporal on completion of his trade training when he was still only 18-and-a-half. He was posted to 237 Signal Squadron, 14 Signal Regiment (EW) in Brawdy, West Wales as a Light Electronic Warfare Team (LEWT) Commander. At 14 Signal Regt Jamie enjoyed various trips abroad on adventure and military training. He particularly enjoyed skiing and kayaking.

The year 2012 saw Jamie and his squadron preparing for a seven-month deployment in Helmand Province in Afghanistan. He was attached to 4 Mechanised Brigade. Jamie stood shoulder-to-shoulder with his infantry colleagues in the Forward Operating Bases.

He returned from Afghanistan in March 2013. July 2013 saw Jamie attached to 30 Commando Royal Marines.

He was part of the Operation Cougar 13 Task Force involving military exercises with various nations in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. He made a big impression on the Royal Marine Corps. January 2014 saw Jamie on exercise in France working with French airborne colleagues.