MREW Annual Review 2020

APRIL 2019: Prince of Wales visits Langdale Ambleside base The visit was just one of several stops across Cumbria for the Prince of Wales, with the team joining Pirelli Tyres, the Hawkshead Relish Company and the Windermere Jetty Museum of Boats, Steam and Stories in an eclectic itinerary. Wearing an official MREW supporter badge, and guided by team leader Nick Owen and chairman Mark Bains, the Prince had a variety of scenarios unfold before him en route round base. He heard how technology has changed the way mountain rescue teams operate with a demonstration of the mapping software developed by Duddon and Furness team member Dave Binks, and the SARCALL incident logging platform devised by Ogwen Valley team member John Hulse.

From here it was out to the back yard, via the enviable drive-through garage — and a chat with Roger Pickup and his search dog Ted — where a cyclist had apparently gone too fast down a local track, impacting a boulder mid-thigh. Courtesy of Casualties Union and some expertly applied make-up, the Prince got to see how the team would treat a C-spine injury, chest and possible pelvic fractures, a mid-shaft femur fracture and a bloodied forehead. Then it was back inside for a demonstration of CPR using the Autopulse, overseen by team doctor Les Gordon. This equipment enable team members and successive medical personnel to continue working on a casualty whilst CPR continues automatically — the record being six hours. The Prince also met former casualty Justin Hale and his wife Ruth Braithwaite for a private chat. Justin had been fell running alone when he had an accident which knocked him unconscious. When found, many hours later, he was severely hypothermic with serious injuries to his sternum, ribs and spine. Finally, it was a quick round of handshakes with team members and guests before the Royal visitor was off on the next leg of his itinerary. ‘I am full of admiration for all the work you do,’ he said, adding that we were very lucky indeed in this country to have ‘all these different mountain rescue teams’.

Top, left to right: Autopulse demo; the Prince meets Nick Owen, Mark Bain and LDSAMRA chair Richard Warren; casualty treatment in the back yard. Above: Roger Pickup with Search Dog Ted. Images © Paul Burke.

News snips from around England and Wales Marathon runners raise over £10,300 for Mountain Rescue England and Wales A huge thank you to our five runners for their dedication

to training, fundraising and running on our behalf! Tim Wainwright, Ian Sadler, Lee Stones, Chris Liston and John Ealing took on the challenge to run the Virgin London Marathon in 2019, and certainly did us proud. It is thanks to the generosity of our Royal patron, HRH The Duke of Cambridge that we have been able to offer these places each year and this is a huge fundraising opportunity for us. We had three runners lined up for April 2020 until the event was cancelled so here’s hoping for a swift return for this and other events in the not-too-distant future.

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