''Rescue'' is a 13-part documentary series created, directed and filmed by Paul Berriff. It focused on the

air-sea rescue Air-sea rescue (ASR or A/SR, also known as sea-air rescue), and aeronautical and maritime search and rescue (AMSAR) by the ICAO and IMO, is the coordinated search and rescue (SAR) of the survivors of emergency water landings as well as people ...

work of "Rescue 137", a Sea King belonging to 202 Sqn,

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

Search and Rescue Force in and around their base at

RAF Lossiemouth Royal Air Force Lossiemouth or more commonly RAF Lossiemouth is a military airfield located on the western edge of the town of Lossiemouth in Moray, north-east Scotland. Lossiemouth is one of the largest and busiest fast-jet stations in the R ...

, Scotland and the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...

over a period of a year between 1988 -1989. The series covered a multitude of incidents ranging from ferrying a sick child to hospital right up to the world's worst offshore disasters, the explosion and ensuing fire on the

Piper Alpha Piper Alpha was an oil platform located in the North Sea approximately north-east of Aberdeen, Scotland. It was operated by Occidental Petroleum (Caledonia) Limited (OPCAL) and began production in 1976, initially as an oil-only platform but la ...

oil platform. Theme and incidental music was by Robert Howes and

Rod Argent Rodney Terence Argent (born 14 June 1945) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Argent came to prominence in the mid 1960s as the keyboardist, founder and leader of the ...

Episode guide

Episode 1: Budding Rose (First broadcast 7 January 1990) The team race to rescue seven crew members from the

Peterhead Peterhead (; gd, Ceann Phàdraig, sco, Peterheid ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is Aberdeenshire's biggest settlement (the city of Aberdeen itself not being a part of the district), with a population of 18,537 at the 2011 Census. ...

fishing vessel, ''Budding Rose'' after it begins taking on water in gale conditions 100 miles east of

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

. The episode is introduced by "Rescue 137" pilot Flight Lieutenant John Prince. Episode 2: Baby Sam (First broadcast 14 January 1990) The team are called out to transport a three-month premature baby, Sam Harcus, from Orkney to a hospital in

. During the flight, Baby Sam's heart stopped and the helicopter

winchman Rescue swimmer is a designation given to rescue specialists, most commonly in the service of the military. Rescue swimmers usually are charged with the rescue, assessment, and rendering of medical aid to persons in distress in the sea, on the land ...

, Bob Pountney, kept the baby alive by providing heart massage during the flight. Episode 3: White Out (First broadcast 21 January 1990) The team operate in Scotland during blizzard conditions. Episode 4: Worse Things Happen at Sea (First broadcast 28 January 1990) "Rescue 137" scrambles to assist a man who has taken a 20-foot fall on board the Oil Rig support ship '' Deepwater 2''. A later incident involves a call to the fishing vessel ''Choice'' which is taking-in water north of

Fraserburgh Fraserburgh (; sco, The Broch or ; gd, A' Bhruaich) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland with a population recorded in the 2011 Census at 13,100. It lies at the far northeast corner of Aberdeenshire, about north of Aberdeen, and north of ...

. Episode 5: Winchman (First broadcast February 4, 1990) This episode focused on the life of a winchman aboard an RAF Sea King. Episode 6: Ditching, Ditching, Ditching (First broadcast 11 February 1990) The team assist in the rescue of persons on board a helicopter that crashed into the North Sea. Episode 7: Piper Alpha (First broadcast 18 February 1990) The role that 202 Sqn played in the response to the Piper Alpha tragedy. Throughout the emergency the survivors evacuated by the 202 Sqn teams were lifted via the MSV ''Tharos''. Episode 8: Chox's Lecture (First broadcast 25 February 1990) Winchman, Paul "Chox" Barton provides advise for any walkers, climbers and tourists that may not be fully prepared. Episode 9: Water Falls (First broadcast March 4, 1990) Water sports which may seem innocuous to some are shown in a different light by the events experienced by the crew of "Rescue 137". Episode 10: Missing (First broadcast 11 March 1990) "Rescue 137" is called out to search for a reported missing hill walker, but the rescue is not what it seems. Later the team is called out to rescue men from the burning drilling rig ''

Ocean Odyssey LP ''Odyssey'' is a self-propelled semi-submersible mobile spacecraft launch platform converted from a mobile drilling rig in 1997. The vessel was used by Sea Launch for equatorial Pacific Ocean launches. She works in concert with the assembly ...

''. Episode 11: Avalanche (First broadcast 18 March 1990) The mountain rescue team, with

Hamish MacInnes Hamish MacInnes (7 July 1930 – 22 November 2020) was a Scottish mountaineer, explorer, mountain search and rescuer, and author. He has been described as the "father of modern mountain rescue in Scotland". He is credited with inventing t ...

, in conjunction with the crew of "Rescue 137", search for people trapped under the snow in the Highlands. Episode 12: We Never Say Never (First broadcast 25 March 1990) The team rush against the clock in bad weather to save a 13-year-old girl suffering from meningitis on the Isle of Skye. Due to the falling snow and poor visibility the team are forced to fly via

RAF Kinloss Royal Air Force Kinloss or RAF Kinloss is a former Royal Air Force (RAF) station located near the village of Kinloss, on the Moray Firth in the north east of Scotland. The RAF station opened on 1 April 1939 and served as a training establishme ...

at altitudes of 150 feet and lower. Episode 13: Sting In The Tale (First broadcast 1 April 1990) The crew set off for a weekend training with the

mountain rescue Mountain rescue refers to search and rescue activities that occur in a mountainous environment, although the term is sometimes also used to apply to search and rescue in other wilderness environments. This tends to include mountains with tech ...

team but an exercise goes drastically wrong.

Credits

The programme was made with the assistance of: * The Flight Crew of 'D' Flight, No 202 Squadron, RAF Lossiemouth. * The Ground Crew of 'D' Flight, No 202 Squadron, RAF Lossiemouth. * The Rescue and Co-ordination Centre, RAF Pitreavie. * The

Mountain rescue Mountain rescue refers to search and rescue activities that occur in a mountainous environment, although the term is sometimes also used to apply to search and rescue in other wilderness environments. This tends to include mountains with tech ...

teams of: *

* RAF Leuchars *

Lochaber Lochaber ( ; gd, Loch Abar) is a name applied to a part of the Scottish Highlands. Historically, it was a provincial lordship consisting of the parishes of Kilmallie and Kilmonivaig, as they were before being reduced in extent by the creatio ...

Assynt Assynt ( gd, Asainn or ) is a sparsely populated area in the south-west of Sutherland, lying north of Ullapool on the west coast of Scotland. Assynt is known for its landscape and its remarkable mountains, which have led to the area, along with ...

* Glenmore Lodge * Cairngorm * Glencoe *

Kintail Kintail ( gd, Cinn Tàile) is an area of mountains in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland, located in the Highland Council area. It consists of the mountains to the north of Glen Shiel and the A87 road between the heads of Loch Duich and Loch ...

* Skye *

Torridon Torridon (Scottish Gaelic: ''Toirbheartan'') is a small village in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. However the name is also applied to the area surrounding the village, particularly the Torridon Hills, mountains to the north of Glen Torrido ...

And: *

Raigmore Hospital Raigmore Hospital ( gd, Ospadal an Rathaig Mhòir) is a health facility located in Inverness, Scotland. It serves patients from the local area as well as providing specialist services to patients from across the Highland area. It is a teaching h ...

, Inverness *

Aberdeen Royal Infirmary Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI) is the largest hospital in the Grampian area, located on the Foresterhill site in Aberdeen, Scotland. ARI is a teaching hospital with around 900 inpatient beds, offering tertiary care for a population of over 600, ...

Belford Hospital Belford Hospital, locally known as The Belford, is a rural general hospital in Fort William, Lochaber, Scotland. It is managed by NHS Highland. History The original hospital, which was financed by a legacy from Andrew Belford and designed by ...

, Fort William * Broadford Hospital, Isle of Skye *

Scottish Ambulance Service The Scottish Ambulance Service ( gd, Seirbheis Ambaileans na h-Alba) is part of NHS Scotland, which serves all of Scotland's population. The Scottish Ambulance Service is governed by a special health board and is funded directly by the Healt ...

Northern Constabulary The Northern Constabulary ( gd, Poileas a' Chinn a Tuath) was the territorial police force responsible for Northern Scotland, covering the Highland council area along with the Western Isles, the Orkney Islands and the Shetland Islands, which mak ...

Grampian Police Grampian Police was, between 1975 and 2013 (replaced by Police Scotland), the territorial police force of the northeast region of Scotland, covering the council areas of Aberdeenshire, the City of Aberdeen, and Moray (the former Grampian region) ...

* Search and Rescue Dog Association *

HM Coastguard His Majesty's Coastguard (HMCG) is a section of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency responsible, through the Secretary of State for Transport to Parliament, for the initiation and co-ordination of all maritime search and rescue (SAR) within the ...

* Grampian Fire Service * Glenmore Lodge, Aviemore and those working onshore and offshore in the oil industry.

References

The British Film Institute Film & TV Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rescue (Tv Series) 1990 British television series debuts 1990 British television series endings Documentary television series about aviation English-language television shows ITV documentaries Scottish television shows Television series by STV Studios Television shows produced by Scottish Television