South West Aerospace winners celebrated at awards evening

Stars of the South West aerospace and defence sector were honoured at the WEAF Aerospace Ambassadors Awards celebration dinner at Bristol Museum on Tuesday night, 28th June.

Organised by West of England Aerospace Forum (WEAF), the inaugural awards celebrate the sector’s unsung heroes and shine a spotlight on their outstanding achievements.

The cream of the South West aerospace sector joined forces to honour the winners, with a key note speech given by Peaches Golding OBE, Her Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of the County and City of Bristol.

Backed by headline sponsors Artemis Optical, Osborne Clarke and SKF Aerospace, the awards attracted scores of entries, with tight competition for the judging panel of independent recognised experts from across the region’s aerospace and defence industry.

The South West has one of the largest concentrations of aerospace and defence capabilities in Europe, and is the biggest aerospace cluster in the UK worth more than £7 billion.

The winners were: Best Aerospace Design Engineer – Jon Moore, Rolls Royce – Filton, Bristol (sponsored by Castlemead Insurance); Best representative of Diversity – Eleanor Clarke, Rolls Royce – Filton, Bristol (sponsored by Trowers & Hamlins LLP); Best Young Aerospace Entrant – Mattia Di Francesco, National Composites Centre – Bristol (sponsored by Bridgwater & Taunton College); Ed Strongman Legacy Award (sponsored by Airbus) – the late Ian Chatting, GKN, Filton, Bristol and Vestas, Isle of Wight; Best Aerospace Customer Service – Jon Morley, Rolls-Royce, Filton, Bristol (sponsored by Smith & Williamson); Best Aerospace Media Ambassador – Ben Gay, Yeovil College (Short film), (sponsored by Aro PR and Marketing).

Simon Young, CEO of WEAF, the leading membership trade organisation for aerospace and defence companies in the South West, said: “Congratulations to all the winners – the brightest and best in the South West’s aerospace sector! And hats off to all the individuals who were shortlisted – the selection process was really tough as we had some outstanding nominations which illustrates the enormous amount of aerospace talent in the region.”