Royal Air Force Mountain Rescue Service
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The Royal Air Force Mountain Rescue Service (RAFMRS) provides the UK military's only all-weather search and rescue asset for the United Kingdom.
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) and ...
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 (MRTs) were first organised during World War II to rescue
aircrew Aircrew, also called flight crew, are personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of a flight's crew depends on the type of aircraft, plus the flight's duration and purpose. Commercial aviation Flight deck positions ...
from the large number of
aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...
crashes then occurring due to
navigational Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...
errors in conjunction with bad weather and resulting poor visibility when flying in the vicinity of high ground. The practice at the time was to organise ad-hoc rescue parties from station medical sections and other ground personnel. Experience demonstrated that this could be dangerous. While the mountains of the United Kingdom are not very tall, they contain much formerly glaciated terrain with steep cliffs, talus slopes, high peaks and
cirque A (; from the Latin word ') is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from Scottish Gaelic , meaning a pot or cauldron) and (; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform ...
basins, and generally experience a
sub-Arctic The subarctic zone is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic, north of humid continental regions and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the north of Scandinavia, Siberia, and the Cairngorms. Generally, ...
climate at relatively low altitudes. Snow and high winds, sometimes in excess of , are possible any month of the year. Rescue operations in these conditions require personnel with specialised
mountaineering Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...
training and equipment. The Royal Air Force mountain rescue teams are credited with some of the earliest development of mountain rescue techniques and teams in the United Kingdom and overseas. RAFMRS teams continue to contribute to life-saving and mountain safety. Since the closure of military Search and Rescue (Helicopter) RAFMRS moved from 2 Group to the newly reformed 38 Group in 2015 until its disbandment in 2020 and has now direct oversight by
No. 85 (Expeditionary Logistics) Wing RAF No. 85 Expeditionary Logistics Wing RAF is a Wing (military aviation unit), wing of the Royal Air Force A4 Force based at RAF Wittering, England. It is made up of several ground transport and logistics handling squadrons, whose role is to estab ...
.


History


Foundation

RAF policy from the very early days of 1918 was for the station medical officer to attend all aircraft crashes as, initially at least, the low air speeds meant that many crashes were survivable and first aid would be given before the crews were moved either into station sick quarters or a hospital. A single RAF medical officer,
Flight Lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...
George Desmond Graham (also known as "Doc" Graham), is credited with pressurising the Air Ministry into forming the RAF Mountain Rescue Service (MRS). Graham was one of several RAF medical doctors who organized teams at
RAF Llandwrog Royal Air Force Llandwrog or, more simply, RAF Llandwrog is a former Royal Air Force station located at Llandwrog, southwest of Caernarfon, Gwynedd, Wales. The site opened in January 1941 as a RAF Bomber Command airfield for training gunners, ra ...
in
North Wales , area_land_km2 = 6,172 , postal_code_type = Postcode , postal_code = LL, CH, SY , image_map1 = Wales North Wales locator map.svg , map_caption1 = Six principal areas of Wales common ...
in 1943, at
RAF Millom Royal Air Force Millom or more simply RAF Millom is a former Royal Air Force station located in Cumbria, England History Opened in January 1941 as No.2 bombing and gunnery school and in summer became No. 2 Air Observer School. In 1942 it be ...
(southern
Lake District The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...
), and at RAF Harpur Hill (
Peak District The Peak District is an upland area in England at the southern end of the Pennines. Mostly in Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southe ...
), where Flt Lt (later Air Commodore) Dr David Crichton performed a similar role. Graham's team rescued dozens of allied airmen from Snowdonia before Graham was posted to
Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
, where he took part in an early para-rescue operation (strikingly similar to one generally credited as the beginning of United States Air Force
Pararescue Pararescuemen (also known as PJs) are United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) and Air Combat Command (ACC) operators tasked with recovery and medical treatment of personnel in humanitarian and combat environments. These speci ...
), saving the life of a
Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...
navigator, Flying Officer W Prosser. Shortly after the war the fledgling service was reorganized and retrained along professional grounds through an influx of trained mountaineers, including Sgt Hans Pick, a former Austrian Army Alpine instructor and Sergeant J R "Johnny" Lees, whose involvement with the service is recounted by author and
mountain guide A mountain guide is a specially trained and experienced professional mountaineer who is certified by local authorities or mountain guide associations. They are considered to be high-level experts in mountaineering, and are hired to instruct or ...
Gwen Moffat Gwen Mary Moffat (née Goddard; born 3 July 1924) is a British mountaineer and writer. Climbing career Moffat was an Army driver in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, stationed in North Wales after the end of the Second World War, when she ...
in her 1964 book about the early days of the service. Other notable early team leaders include Squadron Leader David Dattner OBE. AFC, Flt Sgt JR Lees GM.BEM, Corporal Colin Pibworth BEM, and Chief Technician John Hinde BEM.


Early years

A mountain rescue operation is known as a "call-out." Particularly noteworthy call-outs include the extended search for the remains of the crew of
Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirlin ...
''TX 264'' of
No. 120 Squadron RAF Number 120 Squadron or No. CXX Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Air Force which was established as a Royal Flying Corps unit late in World War I, disbanded a year after the end of the war, then re-established as a RAF Coastal Command squadro ...
, which crashed into
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
's
Beinn Eighe Beinn Eighe () is a mountain massif in the Torridon area of Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. Lying south of Loch Maree, it forms a long ridge with many spurs and summits, two of which are classified as Munros: Rua ...
on 14 March 1951. Recovering all the remains took several months, and led to public criticism of the fledgling service from mountaineering groups, which helped prod the RAF to provide specialized personnel, better training, and proper equipment. Less than a year later, an
Aer Lingus Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish , meaning "air fleet" compare Welsh 'llynges awyr') is the flag carrier of Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 2015 and it is now a wholly owned subsidiary ...
Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...
crashed into a mountain near
Porthmadog Porthmadog (; ), originally Portmadoc until 1974 and locally as "Port", is a Welsh coastal town and community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd and the historic county of Caernarfonshire. It lies east of Criccieth, south-west of Blaenau Ffest ...
in
Snowdonia Snowdonia or Eryri (), is a mountainous region in northwestern Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three national parks in Wales, in 1951. Name and extent It was a commonly held belief that the nam ...
with 23 people on board, and RAFMRS personnel recovered the remains. Over the 1950s, the service became more professional and better coordinated with civilian authorities. Many noteworthy civilian volunteer mountain rescue teams in the UK began as RAFMRS "sub-units." Two air crashes high in the mountains of
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
during the 1950s provided call-outs for the first of several overseas teams of the RAFMRS, based at
RAF Nicosia Royal Air Force Station Nicosia or RAF Nicosia was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station on the island of Cyprus, built in the 1930s. The station served as Headquarters Royal Air Force Cyprus from 8 June to 29 July 1941. The original principal airpo ...
in
Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
. Both crashes had a sense of
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
espionage, involving secret nuclear papers and equipment. To this day the service's historians feel they lack all the details. Other overseas teams were based in
Aden Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...
,
Sharjah Sharjah (; ar, ٱلشَّارقَة ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi, forming part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. Sharjah is the capital o ...
,
Sultanate of Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
and
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
. The middle eastern teams were characterized as "desert rescue," and
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
personnel were occasionally involved. The RAF allowed female RAFMRS team members for the first time in 1994, when the then Inspector of Land Rescue,
Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...
Brian Canfer, tired of having to rationalize excluding women to a UK parliamentary all-party group, agreed to a trial of female volunteers. Advice from the Dutch fire service at the time was that they be accepted, but on utterly equal terms regarding physical fitness and mountaineering requirements. Since their formation, the teams have rescued thousands of
civilian Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not "combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant, b ...
walkers and climbers and responded to hundreds of aircraft crashes. Perhaps the most famous call-out of all was for the crash of
Pan Am Flight 103 Pan Am Flight 103 was a regularly scheduled Pan Am transatlantic flight from Frankfurt to Detroit via a stopover in London and another in New York City. The transatlantic leg of the route was operated by ''Clipper Maid of the Seas'', a Boeing ...
over
Lockerbie Lockerbie (, gd, Locarbaidh) is a small town in Dumfries and Galloway, south-western Scotland. It is about from Glasgow, and from the border with England. The United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census recorded its population as 4,009. The town ...
, Scotland in 1988, also known as the
Lockerbie Air Disaster Pan Am Flight 103 was a regularly scheduled Pan Am transatlantic flight from Frankfurt to Detroit via a stopover in London and another in New York City. The transatlantic leg of the route was operated by ''Clipper Maid of the Seas'', a Boeing ...
. This terrorist incident resulted in the scattering of human remains over a wide swath of southern Scotland. The call-out involved four of the six teams then in existence and "stretched the personnel involved to the limits". Psychological effects on RAF MR troops that took part in the call-out were described in "Trauma" by Professor Gordon Turnbull, who was an RAF psychiatrist with personal knowledge of RAF MR.


Recent history

Helicopter operations, frequently used in mountain rescue, were until recently conducted in cooperation with No. 202 Squadron RAF and
No. 22 Squadron RAF Number 22 Squadron of the Royal Air Force is an operational testing and evaluation squadron for all the Joint Helicopter Command helicopter types including Chinook, Puma HC2, Merlin HC4, Apache and Wildcat AH1. Formerly the Rotary Wing Op ...
. These two squadrons, with the three remaining MRTs and headquarters, and the
Rescue Coordination Centre A rescue co-ordination centre (RCC) is a primary search and rescue facility in a country that is staffed by supervisory personnel and equipped for co-ordinating and controlling search and rescue operations. RCCs are responsible for a geographic are ...
at the former RAF Kinloss, comprised
RAF Search and Rescue The Royal Air Force Search and Rescue Force (SARF or SAR Force) was the Royal Air Force organisation which provided around-the-clock aeronautical search and rescue cover in the United Kingdom, Cyprus and the Falkland Islands, from 1986 until ...
. In 2015, the helicopter squadrons were disbanded, and their search and rescue role assigned to the Bristow Group, a private corporation.
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. Born in London, William was educat ...
, spent two weeks working with RAF Mountain Rescue in 2005, and
Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...
cites this as background to his later decision to become the
patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...
of Mountain Rescue England and Wales.


Training

All RAF MRT members are volunteers. RAFMRS team members are known as "M.R. Troops" or just "Troops." Traditionally, team membership is reserved for enlisted men and women; although
officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...
may serve as either Mountain Rescue Team liaison Officers (MRTLO) or as a Troop, NB this is not at all the same thing as being the team leader but simply a mechanism linking the Team to the station's executives. The position of Team Leader is reserved for a senior NCO, generally a seasoned veteran. For some, service on a team is a primary duty, and they are known as the Permanent Staff or PS. For others, it is a part-time activity in addition to their normal RAF trade or branch for which they are granted relief from other normal secondary duties, such as guard duty.Most training is done "on the hill", the term for mountaineering training days. The MRS has a training syllabus that must be completed by each 'Troop'. New troops are considered "novices." After personnel have completed the first part of the syllabus they sit a practical and theory test to become 'part trained' and this permits the wearing of the mountain rescue badge on the right fore-sleeve of dress uniform and the RAF blue jumper, one of only two special service badges recognized for RAF enlisted men, the other being the badge of a qualified marksman. Walking, mountain navigation, high-angle rescue techniques,
rock climbing Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...
, and winter mountaineering are the primary training activities, which are carried out in all weathers. After the 'part trained' section 'troops' then complete 'Trained' and 'Party Leader' status both having theory and practical tests. Alongside these core elements RAF MRS also have 'Intermediate and Immediate Emergency Care Provider' (IEC), 'Rock Leader', 'Rock Instructor', 'Winter Leader' and 'Winter Instructor'. A regular 'Troop' is expected to spend upwards of 30 weekends a year training on the hill. Many Himalayan expeditions have been mounted, and troops and ex-troops have participated in other organizations' expeditions. In 1970, ex RAF Kinloss troop
Ian Clough Ian Clough (1937–1970) was a British mountaineer who was killed on the 1970 British Annapurna expedition led by Sir Chris Bonington to climb the south face of the Himalayan massif. He was later described by Bonington as "the most modest man ...
died when a
serac A serac (from Swiss French ''sérac'') is a block or column of glacial ice, often formed by intersecting crevasses on a glacier. Commonly house-sized or larger, they are dangerous to mountaineers, since they may topple with little warning. Even ...
collapsed on him while descending
Annapurna Annapurna (; ne, अन्नपूर्ण) is a mountain situated in the Annapurna mountain range of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal. It is the tenth highest mountain in the world at above sea level and is well known for the difficu ...
on an expedition with
Chris Bonington Sir Christian John Storey Bonington, CVO, CBE, DL (born 6 August 1934) is a British mountaineer. His career has included nineteen expeditions to the Himalayas, including four to Mount Everest. Early life and expeditions Bonington's father, w ...
. Other sites for expeditions have included Alaska's
Denali Denali (; also known as Mount McKinley, its former official name) is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. With a topographic prominence of and a topographic isolation of , Denali is the thir ...
, the first RAF single service ascent of Mt. Everest in 2001, and
Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...
, where troops have volunteered for
British Antarctic Survey The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) is the United Kingdom's national polar research institute. It has a dual purpose, to conduct polar science, enabling better understanding of global issues, and to provide an active presence in the Antarctic on ...
duties. Each year the service runs several courses to ensure that personnel are sufficiently qualified and bring forward new 'Troops'. These courses include Summer and Winter mountaineering courses where the focus is on training lead climbers, Technical Rescue courses focusing on new techniques and a Party Leader course. A special course is held when needed every few years to train team leaders.


Structure

The RAF Mountain Rescue Service comprises three teams, based at
RAF Valley Royal Air Force Valley or more simply RAF Valley ( cy, Llu Awyr Brenhinol Y Fali) is a Royal Air Force station on the island of Anglesey, Wales, and which is also used as Anglesey Airport. It provides both basic and advanced fast-jet training ...
in North Wales,
RAF Leeming Royal Air Force Leeming or RAF Leeming is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located near Leeming, North Yorkshire, England. It was opened in 1940 and was jointly used by the RAF and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Between 1950 and 1991, it ...
in England and
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 ...
in Scotland. A headquarters is based at RAF Valley which provides administration, training and equipment support. The service reports to No. 85 Expeditionary Logistics Wing, based at
RAF Wittering Royal Air Force Wittering or more simply RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire. Although Stamford, Lincolnshire, Sta ...
in
Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...
.


Awards and decorations

The following major UK Forces decorations have been awarded to past and serving members of the RAFMRS:
George Medal The George Medal (GM), instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI,''British Gallantry Medals'' (Abbott and Tamplin), p. 138 is a decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, awarded for gallantry, typically by civilians, or in circ ...
* Flight Sergeant J R Lees (Amphitheatre Buttress rescue, 1958)
Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
* Acting
Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also ...
David Dattner (1954)
Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
*
Flight Lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...
GD Graham (services to mountain rescue, 1943) * Flight Lieutenant D Crichton (services to mountain rescue, 1946) * Flight Lieutenant R Robertson ( Mount Suphan (Turkey) call-out, 1959) * Squadron Leader J Sims, (services to mountain rescue, 1967) * Squadron Leader G Blackburn (services to mountain rescue, 1984) * Squadron Leader W Gault, (
Lockerbie Air Disaster Pan Am Flight 103 was a regularly scheduled Pan Am transatlantic flight from Frankfurt to Detroit via a stopover in London and another in New York City. The transatlantic leg of the route was operated by ''Clipper Maid of the Seas'', a Boeing ...
, 1989) *
Warrant Officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...
R Sefton (services to mountain rescue, 1993) *
Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...
P Duckworth (services to mountain rescue, 1995) * Flight Sergeant W Batson (services to mountain rescue, 1996) * Sergeant A Sylvester (services to mountain rescue, 1998) * Sergeant C Van der Lee (services to mountain rescue, 1998) *
Corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...
W J McRitchie (services to mountain rescue, 1999) * Flight Lieutenant N Daniel (services to mountain rescue, 2001) * Flight Sergeant J A F Coull (services to mountain rescue, 2001) * Flight Sergeant D Whalley (services to mountain rescue, 2002) * Flight Sergeant M Carroll (services to mountain rescue, 2003) * Warrant Officer A B Haveron (services to mountain rescue, 2003) * Squadron Leader N Barr (services to mountain rescue, 2002)
Queen's Commendation for Bravery The King's Commendation for Bravery and the King's Commendation for Bravery in the Air are United Kingdom awards,Cairngorms The Cairngorms ( gd, Am Monadh Ruadh) are a mountain range in the eastern Highlands of Scotland closely associated with the mountain Cairn Gorm. The Cairngorms became part of Scotland's second national park (the Cairngorms National Park) on 1 S ...
, 1971) * Sergeant W Batson (Lockerbie Air Disaster, 1989) * Sergeant P Winn, (Lockerbie Air Disaster, 1989) * Flight Sergeant D Whalley (Lockerbie Air Disaster, 1989)
British Empire Medal The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown. The current honour was created in 1922 to ...
* Corporal G McTigue (services to mountain rescue, 1943) * Flight Sergeant D E Siddons (services to mountain rescue, 1950) *
Senior Aircraftman Senior aircraftman (SAC) or senior aircraftwoman (SACW) was a rank in the Royal Air Force, ranking between leading aircraftman and senior aircraftman technician (SAC(T)) (although SACs in non-technical trades progress directly to corporal) and ...
M Brown (
Beinn Eighe Beinn Eighe () is a mountain massif in the Torridon area of Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. Lying south of Loch Maree, it forms a long ridge with many spurs and summits, two of which are classified as Munros: Rua ...
call-out, 1952) * Corporal C D Austin (services to mountain rescue, 1952) * Sergeant J Mooring (services to mountain rescue, 1958) * Flight Sergeant H Appleby (Mount Suphan (Turkey) call-out, 1959) * Sergeant J Emmerson (Mount Suphan (Turkey) call-out, 1959) * Senior Aircraftsman G Murphy (Mount Suphan (Turkey) call-out, 1959) * Sergeant J Steed, (services to mountain rescue, 1960) * Flight Sergeant JR Lees (services to mountain rescue, 1962) * Flight Sergeant W Brankin (services to mountain rescue, 1963) * Sergeant G Patterson (Wadi Mukeiras call-out, 1959) *
Chief Technician Chief technician (Chf Tech or formerly C/T) is a senior non-commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force which is only held by aviators in technical trades and by musicians. It is between sergeant and flight sergeant and, like the latter has a N ...
J Hinde (services to mountain rescue, 1964) *
Chief Technician Chief technician (Chf Tech or formerly C/T) is a senior non-commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force which is only held by aviators in technical trades and by musicians. It is between sergeant and flight sergeant and, like the latter has a N ...
G R Palin (services to mountain rescue, 1968) * Sergeant P McGowan (services to mountain rescue, 1971) * Corporal C Pibworth (services to mountain rescue and desert rescue, 1972) * Flight Sergeant J Tunnah (services to mountain rescue, 1972) * Flight Sergeant G Bruce (services to mountain rescue and
Elephant Island Elephant Island is an ice-covered, mountainous island off the coast of Antarctica in the outer reaches of the South Shetland Islands, in the Southern Ocean. The island is situated north-northeast of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, west-so ...
Expedition, 1973) * Flight Sergeant H Oldham (services to mountain rescue, 1976) * Flight Sergeant R Sefton (services to mountain rescue, 1977) * Flight Sergeant J Baines (services to mountain rescue, 1979) * Chief Technician J Craig (services to mountain rescue, 1979) * Flight Sergeant A Haveron (services to mountain rescue, 1984) * Flight Sergeant D Shanks (services to mountain rescue, 1986) * Flight Sergeant K Taylor (services to mountain rescue, 1987) * Flight Sergeant P Weatherill (services to mountain rescue, 1987) * Flight Sergeant D Whalley (services to mountain rescue, 1992) * Flight Sergeant P Kirkpatrick (services to mountain rescue, 1993)


References


Further reading

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


Official website RAF SAR

The Meccano Magazine April 1959, page 174 by Arthur Nettleton

The War Illustrated Vol. 7 No. 169 10 December 1943

The Badge Newsletter: The Other Badge - Walking in the Footsteps of Legends. The RAF PTI Association

JOHN HINDE RAF MRT TEAM LEADER diaries
{{Royal Air Force Royal Air Force Mountain rescue agencies