ACS marks Leeds Armed Forces Day by revealing winning student design for this year's charity Steel Soldier Silhouette
Yorkshire-based manufacturer ACS Stainless Steel Fixings has unveiled the winner of a new student design competition – part of its fifth annual Steel Soldiers campaign. Held in the lead-up to Leeds Armed Forces Day, the competition invited Year 8 pupils at Lawnswood School, Leeds, to create a design concept for this year’s Steel Soldier silhouette. ACS will now use the winning idea as inspiration for the 2025 campaign design, set to be revealed this autumn.
It marks an exciting new dimension for the much-loved annual Steel Soldiers campaign, which has raised over £13,000 for the Army Benevolent Fund (ABF) since its inception in 2020. Traditionally launched ahead of Remembrance Day, the campaign invites donations from businesses and community groups in return for a handcrafted steel soldier.
This week saw the winner announced during a visit by ACS to Lawnswood School, where the team also delivered a careers presentation as part of a STEM day. Speaking at the event, Kate Robertson Hart, Marketing Director at ACS, said: “We’ve thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with Lawnswood School and have been incredibly inspired by the pupils’ creativity and enthusiasm for engineering.
“We’re thrilled to announce that the winning design comes from Elizabeth Harrison, age 13, whose silhouette concept brilliantly captures the spirit of our campaign. Her thoughtful design is inspired by Queen Elizabeth II. In 1945, then Princess Elizabeth, joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) and served in a full-time active role, becoming the first female member of the Royal Family to do so during wartime. Her uniform was a standard battle dress, and she was trained as a mechanic, learning to service, maintain, and drive heavy army vehicles. We’re very excited to welcome Elizabeth to our factory later this year to see the silhouette inspired by her design brought to life.”
Runner-up prizes were also awarded to second and third place pupils, who will also be invited to the ACS factory to have their designs created in steel. All winners received an art set and Elizabeth was also presented with £50 in Amazon vouchers. ACS has also made a donation to the school’s fund and will gift a full-size steel soldier inspired by Elizabeth’s design to Lawnswood School in time for Remembrance Sunday this autumn.
Lauren Westerman, Science Teacher at Lawnswood, added: “Our pupils have fully embraced this challenge and are incredibly excited to see Elizabeth’s design realised in steel. We’re passionate about promoting STEM and engineering in the classroom, and we’re so grateful to Andrew and Lewis from ACS for delivering such an engaging careers session.”
Beyond the Steel Soldiers campaign, ACS is a proud signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant. Since 2021, the company has guaranteed interviews for all ex-service personnel who apply, reaffirming its commitment to supporting veterans and their families.
Based in Yorkshire, ACS is a UK leader in the manufacture and design of structural building components, including wall ties, windposts, masonry support systems, and brick slip solutions. Its 117-strong team continues to supply the construction industry with high-performance, precision-engineered products.
For more information, please visit: https://acsstainless.co.uk