RAF chaplain recognised for 57 years of service
A chaplain has been recognised for his 57 years of service to the RAF Air Cadets after receiving an award from the Lord-Lieutenant of the Royal County of Berkshire.
Charles Lewis has been involved in the Air Training Corps since he joined as a cadet in 1965, and he has been a chaplain for the Tadley Air Cadet squadron since 2012.
Mr Lewis, a 70-year-old from Bramley, is also a minister at St Mary’s in Tadley and was named as one of the three recipients of the 2021/22 Basingstoke and Deane mayor’s award for the community work he does with the church.
He received his certificate of meritorious service from Lord-Lieutenant James Puxley at an award ceremony at Sandhurst on Thursday, September 28.
Mr Lewis said: “I feel very honoured that colleagues on the uniformed side of the organisation felt that I was worthy of nominating for that award for my work as a chaplain.
“I dedicate the award to my wife, who has supported me all our married life in all I do with the Air Training Corps, and to chaplains everywhere. Chaplains really are the unsung heroes.”
Mr Lewis first got involved with the RAF Air Cadets when he joined the Air Training Corps at 13 years old, and at 20 he was commissioned into the RAF volunteer reserve to work with the corps.
After taking early retirement, he then began training to become a minister. Once he became licensed, he was asked to become the chaplain to the Air Cadet squadron in Tadley in 2012.
Three years later, he became chaplain for the entire Thames Valley wing, which covers Oxfordshire and Berkshire, and then in 2017 he became wing chaplain for Dorset and Wiltshire.
He’s now the senior chaplain for all the air cadets in Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Dorset, Wiltshire and two of the Channel Islands.
Mr Lewis said: “As a chaplain we are there to look after their spiritual needs, to provide moral guidance and support, and to provide pastoral care. We are there for them if they have got a problem.
“It is immensely rewarding. Seeing a youngster come in, stay with the corps and develop, and when they leave not only have they physically grown, but they have grown as individuals.
“The air corps gives them a lot of assurance and knowledge and all these things that they otherwise perhaps would not have gained in life.”
When he joined St Mary’s Church eight years ago, Mr Lewis started a Battle of Britain memorial service due to his RAF background.
What started as a small ceremony has since grown into a sizable affair, with cadets from three different squadrons attending, as well as various dignitaries such as the Mayor of Basingstoke and Deane, chair of Tadley Town Council, and multiple members of the RAF Association.
After receiving the Basingstoke and Deane mayor’s award from former mayor Onnalee Cubitt last year, Mr Lewis said: “I felt deeply humbled that she felt I was worthy of that award because there are so many people in Basingstoke and Deane that do so much good work.”
He also dedicated the award to his wife Marilyn.
“I couldn’t do what I do without her support,” he said.
