GT York Show: Poignant award for outstanding young soldier

Amid all the fun and celebration at the Great Yorkshire Show a poignant and emotive moment was cast when Private Bradley Addison was honoured as the show’s Soldier of the Year.
By The Newsroom
Published 16th Jul 2015, 16:56 BST
Private Bradley Addison from Leeds, from the 1st Battalion Yorkshire Regiment winner of the Best Soldier award at the Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate with his wife Laura Addison and son TheoPrivate Bradley Addison from Leeds, from the 1st Battalion Yorkshire Regiment winner of the Best Soldier award at the Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate with his wife Laura Addison and son Theo
Private Bradley Addison from Leeds, from the 1st Battalion Yorkshire Regiment winner of the Best Soldier award at the Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate with his wife Laura Addison and son Theo

The 24-year-old father of one, from Leeds, was nominated by his regiment, The Yorkshire Regiment, for his outstanding service during his time in uniform.

Brought up in the Headingley area of the city, he joined the army in 2012 and completed his initial training at the Infantry Training Centre in Catterick.

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He joined The Yorkshire Regiment as a Warrior Armoured Vehicle Driver with ‘A’ Company and, in the words of his commanding officer, he has demonstrated ‘outstanding service’ throughout his time in the unit.

Private Bradley Addison from Leeds, from the 1st Battalion Yorkshire Regiment winner of the Best Soldier award at the Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate.Private Bradley Addison from Leeds, from the 1st Battalion Yorkshire Regiment winner of the Best Soldier award at the Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate.
Private Bradley Addison from Leeds, from the 1st Battalion Yorkshire Regiment winner of the Best Soldier award at the Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate.

He transferred to Quebec Company and is currently participating in a Junior Noncommissioned Officer course.

Having recently completed the advanced stages of his progress to becoming a Lance Corporal, Pte Addison told The Yorkshire Post: “It was a great honour to be presented with this.

“It relates to my performance over the last 12 months.

“I recently completed training in Canada, finishing only last month and the process has been great

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“It is my first time at the Great Yorkshire Show, I never came when I was a kid, it’s a brilliant event.”

Pte Addison was presented with his award, the Yorkshire Agricultural Society Cup, in the Main Ring in front of hundreds of people by the society’s chief executive Nigel Pulling. Following his

Married to Lara he has an 18-month-old son Theo with another son due later in the year. Both wife and son were in the ring to proudly watch him be presented with the honour, with the vast crowd responding with a rapturous round of applause, with many rising to their feet in his honour.

“I was born in London but my mum is from Leeds,” he said.

“I moved up to Leeds, as my mum is from here, when I was a teenager, growing up really close to Headingley Carnegie Stadium.

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“Naturally I went into the Yorkshire Regiment and did my training at Catterick. It is enjoyable work, very enjoyable.

“It has already taken me all over the world. I have been to Canada, Poland and Germany, every day is different. One week you can be working on an armoured supply vehicle, the next week you might be on a military aircraft.”

The award is still in its infancy at the Great Yorkshire Show, with this being the fourth time that the cup has been presented to the bestsoldier in the Yorkshire Regiment, with previous winners having been selected from Bradford, Goole and Hull.

The Yorkshire Regiment was created in 2004 by the then Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon as part of the restructuring of the infantry bringing together the Prince of Wales’s Own Regiment of Yorkshire, the Green Howards, the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment and The Yorkshire Regiment.