Army cadet volunteer from Inverness is rewarded for work to boost young people’s morale during lockdown
A cadet who became a hit on YouTube during the coronavirus lockdown has been given an army award.
Second Lieutenant Daisy Burnside (23), from Culloden detachment 1st battalion The Highlanders Army Cadet Force, co-hosted weekly interviews on YouTube after face-to-face training was suspended in March.
She teamed up with a fellow volunteer from Caithness, Sergeant Major Instructor Stuart Taggart, to present weekly interviews on the battalion’s own YouTube channel.
Such was the pair’s chemistry and mix of jokes and serious questioning, they became known as the cadets’ answer to Good Morning Britain’s Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid.
2Lt Burnside has now been awarded a commander’s coin by Brigadier Mark Christie, deputy commander of cadets at regional command.
The interviews saw them both speak to various army cadet personalities, ranging from the battalion’s own personnel, former cadets and senior members of the organisation including author and TV personality Big Phil Campion, who is national champion of the force.
Conducted over a 13-week period, the interviews have been shared throughout the organisation.
2Lt Burnside has also been ensuring that battalion cadets – which covers the Highlands, Moray, Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland – have been progressing with a virtual training programme she created to allow volunteers to keep in touch with each other during the challenging period of lockdown.