A TERRITORIAL Army officer of the Royal Logistic Corps has been given a top Army commendation.

Swindonian Capt Tim Matthews, 28, of 168 Pioneer Regiment The Royal Logistic corps, a unit based at Grantham in Lincolnshire, has been presented with a commander in Chief's Commendation for Meritorious Service.

The certificate, signed by General Sir Mike Jackson, is one of only a handful given each year after a rigorous process of selection and recommendation.

In Captain Matthews' case it was for his outstanding efforts in the concept, design, management and completion of a state of the art 300 page interactive TA recruiting website.

Tim, who in civilian life is an IT professional with the Dell Corporation, lives in Chippenham but grew up and found his first computer industry job in Swindon where his parents still live.

He employed his civilian management skills to set up a small hand-picked group of officers to develop the project which ran for just under a year. The task entailed liaising at top management level in the Ministry of Defence and with a number of commercial internet contractors.

The Army's Deputy Chief of Staff at Land Command in Salisbury, Maj Gen Peter Chambers MBE, presented Capt Matthews with his certificate at an award ceremony in Grantham.

Tim, who is a member of the Institute of Management, last year gained a Licentiateship (Senior Award) with the City & Guilds of London at the earliest possible age of 27 on the strength of his fast tracked civilian career and TA Staff college results.

He said: "I was most surprised but very honoured to have been selected for the CINC's Commmendation so early in my career as a reservist.

"The great thing about being a part-time member of the forces is that you can bring much of your civilian expertise to bear on a whole range of military challenges.

"At the same time you reap the benefits of first class forces organisational training which in turn pays dividends back at your office desk."