To the
as a whole:
Wilkinson Sword of Peace 2001
Sqn Ldr Shane Spence, SO2, emails:
Just a short note from
Chamonix. God life is hell in this job!!!
Just to let
you and the other members of the MRA know that the MRS has won the 2001 RAF
Wilkinson Sword of Peace. The submission was based on the achievements during
the F15 incident, Everest, Iceland as well as the charity work done by the MRS.
Hope you are well and best regards to the MRS from Alps 2002.
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Congratulations of the MRA go to all involved.
Sqn Ldr Nick Barr (RAF Kinloss)
Flt Sgt D W M Whalley BEM (RAF Kinloss MRT)
Heavy Whalley has this year received an MBE to keep company with his BEM. But he didn’t stop there; he has also been awarded the Distinguished Service Award of the Mountain Rescue Committee of Scotland. The citation reads:
Dave (Heavy) Whalley has served within the Royal Air Force Mountain Rescue Service for nearly 30 years. He was the Team Leader of both the Kinloss and Leuchars teams, during which time he directed operations at the Lockerbie, Mull of Kintyre and Glen Tilt aircraft disasters. Heavy also served as Chairman of the Mountain Rescue Committee of Scotland in the late 1990s and represented many other mountaineering organisations (eg the Scottish Mountain Leader Training Board) during this period. At the same time, he was instrumental in securing significant funding for Mountain Rescue Teams in Scotland. Through his dedication, leadership, resourcefulness and tireless energy, Heavy has made an outstanding contribution to Mountain Rescue in Scotland and the UK in general.
Sgt John Ritchie (RAF Leeming MRT)
C-in-C’s Commendation
Pete was awarded the MBE in The Queen's Jubilee Honours List 2002, for services to The Peak District National Park. He says It was a real shock to him and a complete surprise (a bolt from the blue one might say) to receive this award after 25 years of working as an Area Ranger in Britain's first National Park. This was a job he really enjoyed and was sorry to leave. On the other hand, was he trying to keep up with Heavy? He continues: “I retired at 65 at the end of May (not quite ready yet for the pipe and slippers)! and started a new job in East Manchester on 12th June. I have a new appointment as a Health Walk Co-ordinator, for the 'Stepping Out in Clayton and Newton Heath' health walk scheme, which is part of the National 'Walking the Way to Health' Initiative of the British Heart Foundation and the Countryside Agency. Says Pete,
“It benefits from extra funding from the New Opportunities Fund and sponsorship from Kia Cars as part of their 'Think Before You Drive' campaign. The Initiative aims to improve the health, well being and fitness of more than a million people, especially those who do little exercise or who live in areas of poor health. It should keep me busy 3 days per week for the next 3 years!”
Pete McGowan joined MR as a volunteer in the late 50s, and qualified as a team leader in 1965, his team leaderships including RAF Leeming MRT 1966-8, Valley 1968-72, Akrotiri 1973-5, Kinloss 1975-7. His BEM came in 1971 “for services to Mountain Rescue.* Major incidents included: Malcolm Howells, a fallen rock-climber, on Twwyn Y Gorlech, 1969; a collapsed aerial rigger on a high mast near RAF Akrotiri, 1971