The Achievement Award will be the final one presented at our awards night this Thursday and the only one where the winner is revealed before the night.

This year it goes to the Yorkshire Regiment for the supreme sacrifice it has made over the last 12 months trying to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan.The awards are split into 14 categories and we are profiling every one shortlisted between now and the glittering evening at the John Smith’s Stadium.The winners will be revealed on the night which is hosted by ITN newsreader Nina Hossain.

TOMORROW: Find out who has made the shortlist in the Sports Personality category.

CUMMINS Turbo Technologies is a global market leader in turbochargers founded as Holset Engineering in Huddersfield in 1952.

We are proud to continue sponsoring The Examiner Community Awards to celebrate the contributions made by volunteers and recognise the change this can make to the lives of people who live in and around Huddersfield. 

Cummins also encourages employees to support local communities in creating a better place to live for everybody by doing various volunteering jobs around Huddersfield.

Our aim this year is to provide more than 2,600 hours of voluntary time to support our community partners such as Stirley Farm, Safe Anchor Trust, Denby Dale Parish Trust and Batley Girls School.

THE 3rd Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment lost nine soldiers during its tour in Afghanistan.

The proud regiment, which can trace its history back 300 years, felt the loss of each soldier.

While every last man and woman honoured the fallen and mourned with their families, they continued to do their duty for Queen and country.

The last group of soldiers from 3 Yorks returned from Afghanistan in October.

It marked the end of a nine-month tour of duty.

The end of the campaign was followed by the ceremonial extinguishing of a candle which had burned throughout the soldiers’ absence.

But the relief and joy at the homecoming was tinged with sadness and a sense of loss for those soldiers who didn’t return.

Of the nine soldiers killed, Corunna Company bore the brunt losing six in what was the biggest single loss of life in the conflict.

Three of those who died were from Huddersfield.

A Warrior armoured vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device in Lashkar Gah on March 6, 2012.

Cpl Jake Hartley, 20, of New Mill; Pte Daniel Wilford, 21, of Cowlersley and Pte Anton Frampton, 20, of Longwood, died along with Sgt Nigel Coupe, Pte Daniel Wade and Pte Christopher Kershaw.

Also killed was 18-year-old Pte Tom Wroe, of Meltham, who was shot and fatally wounded by a rogue Afghan policeman at Checkpoint Tora in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province on September 15, 2012.

Private Wroe died alongside Sgt Gareth Thursby.

The other 3 Yorks soldier killed in combat was Pte Gregg Stone, of Burma Company.

He died after coming under fire in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province on June 3, 2012.

Corunna Company returned from Afghanistan to their base at Warminster last September.

A few weeks later the 170-strong company staged a homecoming parade in Huddersfield.

The soldiers marched through the town centre to huge acclaim as hundreds lined the streets to welcome them back.

A private service for the fallen was held at Huddersfield Parish Church.

The last 3 Yorks soldiers arrived back at their Wiltshire base in October.

A ceremonial candle, which had burned for the length of the nine-month tour of duty, was finally extinguished by Lance Cpl Dale Leadbetter.

The commanding officer of 3 Yorks, Lt Col Zac Stenning, said it had been a privilege to lead the troops in Afghanistan and paid tribute to his soldiers and their families.

He said: “I am extremely proud of the soldiers and officers of 3 Yorks and all they have achieved in Afghanistan. The courage, dedication and selfless commitment of the soldiers has been of the highest possible standard.

“The support from the families who remained behind has been truly humbling.”

The first Yorkshire Regiment battalion was deployed to Afghanistan in September 2011.

But, despite the scaling down of British operations, the 2nd battalion remains on standby for another tour in late 2014.

Since the Yorkshire Regiment was formed in 2006, a total of 18 soldiers have lost their lives.

They include Lance Corporal Graham Shaw, 27, of Golcar, killed by a roadside bomb in Helmand province on February 1, 2010.

The regiment has an emotional, practical and financial network to help bereaved families that can last a lifetime.

Regimental secretary Col David O’Kelly has been to all 18 funerals and met all 18 families.

“All are solemn but proud occasions and each tragic event binds the regiment to a local community,” he said.

“It is our duty to ensure the families are looked after – not just for weeks or months – but therein after.

“Each family is different. Some stay connected with us for longer than others. Some just like to know that we are there if they need us.

“We look after our soldiers and their dependents forever. That may be an 84-year-old widow or a 20-year-old wounded soldier’s unborn child. We deal with every age group.”

Col O’Kelly said one of the unknowns of modern-day conflicts was the mental health legacy.

“The soldiers of today may not need our help today,” he said. “They may need it in 25 years time.

“As a nation we don’t know what the mental health legacy will be. If we knew what was coming we could do something about it.

“We know that combat stress can take a long time to manifest itself. The average length of time is 13 years.

“So a chap coming back from Afghanistan in 2012 may not need us until 2025.

“Maybe he is at his daughter’s birthday party and a balloon bursts and it awakens a tragic event in Afghanistan that was buried away.

“We still have Falklands veterans suffering with post traumatic stress disorder.”

The Yorkshire regimental office deals with 300 benevolent cases every year and spends around £100,000 helping those in need.

“It’s a big commitment that we make,” said Col O’Kelly. “But I see it as our core business. The Army looks after its own.” THE 3rd Battalion is an historic old regiment with proud traditions.

The regiment can trace its roots back to 1702 but it was 1782 before formal links to the West Riding of Yorkshire were established.

Known as the Duke of Wellington’s Regiment – or the Dukes – soldiers from the regiment have served in all the major conflicts.

During the First World War the Dukes lost more than 8,000 men with five soldiers being awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery.

In the Second World War battalions took part in the campaigns of Dunkirk, North West Europe, North Africa, Italy and Burma.

Since then the regiment has served in Hong Kong, Kenya, Germany, Gibraltar, Cyprus, Belize, Northern Ireland, the Falkland Islands, Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq.

The Yorkshire Regiment will lose one of its four battalions later this year as part of cuts to the armed forces.

The present 2nd Battalion (Green Howards) is to be disbanded and merged into the other two. The current 3rd Battalion (Duke of Wellington’s) will become the 1st Battalion and the current 1st Battalion (Prince of Wales’ Own) will become the 2nd Battalion.

The 4th Battalion is the Territorial Army (TA) battalion.

Despite the downsizing the York-based regiment continues to recruit and remains, according to regimental secretary Col David O’Kelly, a “very vibrant” organisation.

“We are in a period of transition as four battalions become three – two regular and one reserve (TA) – but we remain focused,” he said.

“We would not choose to be in this position but we are good military people.

“From September we will be smaller but we will be fully manned and raring to go. The Army as a whole is reducing its commitment to Afghanistan and reducing in size by making soldiers redundant but we are seeing the emergence of a very vibrant organisation.

“We are still recruiting and we are looking for the best young men in the region.”

Col O’Kelly said the camaraderie and friendships built in the Army could last a lifetime whether soldiers served four years or 34 years.

THE local HQ for the Yorkshire Regiment is at Wellesley Park, Halifax, the historic home of the old Duke of Wellington’s Regiment.

The HQ covers West and South Yorkshire and the Craven district of North Yorkshire.

It is run by former Duke Bob Heron, the assistant regimental secretary, pictured.

As the public face of the Yorkshire Regiment in the old West Riding, Bob organises all the regimental events in the local area.

Sadly, last year, that meant organising funerals for four Huddersfield soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

“It was a very hard time,” said Bob. “It took over my life last year, together with a few other people.

“The funerals were carried out with the help of soldiers from the 3rd Battalion but were planned by me in accordance with the wishes of the families.

“There were huge turnouts for all the funerals and I wasn’t surprised,” said Bob. “On all of them the support we got from the local community, the councils and other agencies was just amazing.

“The Yorkshire Regiment is much closer to the local community than it has been in a long time.”

Despite soldiers losing their lives, recruitment remains strong among young people.

“That traditionally happens at times of conflict,” said Bob. “We have seen that right from the First War World War when thousands enlisted voluntarily.”

SOLDIERS from the Yorkshire Regiment will parade through Huddersfield in July.

The Freedom Parade is part of a march through eight towns and cities over four days.

The last time soldiers paraded through Huddersfield was in October when hundreds lined the streets to welcome the troops home from Afghanistan.

This time the parade is to mark the freedom of the borough originally bestowed on the Duke of Wellington Regiment by Huddersfield in 1948.

The honour was passed from the Dukes to the merged Yorkshire Regiment in 2006.

A series of parades will be held from July 17-20 inclusive.

Parades will be held in Rotherham and Sheffield on July 17; Barnsley and Wakefield on July 18; Skipton and Bradford on July 19; and Huddersfield and Halifax on July 20.

Mr Heron said soldiers relished the parades.

“They may chunter a little as the sergeant major puts them through the drills in camp but when they step out with the band playing and the crowds cheering – as they were in Huddersfield during the homecoming parade – they will love it.

“With the parade being on a Saturday in Huddersfield we expect a lot of people.”