50 years of Service. As I sat at the filling station, whilst hubby was filling up the car, this rather magnificent Land Rover pulled in. I couldn’t help but notice, as mountain rescue was such a big part of my young life. My dad was responsible for setting up the Braemar Mountain Rescue Association when we first moved to Braemar in 1964. It was an existing service in those days, but one made up of civilians, with little equipment, risking life and limb to rescue hill walkers missing in the Cairngorms. Dad put together a team, got them equipped properly, was hugely influential in having a radio mast erected to allow radio communication in the hills, and also in raising funds to buy equipment and a Snow Track to allow faster, safer rescues. As a young girl, along with other local kids, I used to participate in highland dancing displays on the church green every summer, as a means of raising funds to buy the famous Snow Track.
Looking at the modern vehicles and kit, I am quite amazed by the standards of today’s team and how far they have come in over 50 years.
Dad and the other original members of the team could never have imagined this in their wildest dreams, back in the day!
What a wonderful man your father was Issi! You must be so proud to see what has become of the Mountsin Rescue Teams! What a fantastic job they do! I wonder how many lives have been saved since your father did all that work? Deserves a big fav!
Fantastic .. What a great thing for your Dad to do .. You must be proud.. The Mountain Rescue guys do such a great job .. There was a rescue on Mt Cook here in NZ just last week when a Australian Soldier got lost and was in minus conditions and got rescued after about 5 days ... just with mild frost bite .. His Army exprerience that certainly helped..
@pamknowler Thank you Pam - they did save a lot of lives, but dad always remembers the lives they couldn't save. One which particularly marked him, (and many others), was in 1971 when a party of 5 school kids and an 18-year old assistant leader were found dead on the mountains. Dad and the Braemar Team were first to find the bodies. Only one of the kids and the leader of the group could be saved. It was a massive and tragic event in the Cairngorms. I was 11 years old, and I remember dad being away for days on the mountain, and how worried mum was. You can see something of the detail in this wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairngorm_Plateau_Disaster I can't vouch for the accuracy of what is written, but I know dad would have a few things to say about the whole event!
@julzmaioro Thanks Julia - dad eventually wrote a book which covered his experiences in mountain rescue. He was in the police force too, so he called it 'A bobby on Ben MacDhui'. I'm really glad he did, as I learned a lot about him and some of his experiences by reading his book. He's great at the written word, but, as kids, he never really told us about many of the things he went through.
Fantastic story. Thank you for sharing. I will certainly go and look and the wikipedia link. One hears of lost people everyday especially now that it's vacation time. You might have seen my picture of the helicopter rescue of two tourists in the Dolomites. And tyour story of the children reminds me of the thailandese boys who were saved after much effort and expenses by a Thai and international team. However I read yesterday that the person who's mainly thanked and considered responsible for the good result is a monk from Myanmar who has prayed enough to save the children...It makes me think of what doctors use to say in Italy. If the patient dies it's the doctor's fault, if she or he's cured it has been a miracle of the Madonna.Well your dad did save a lot of lives and can be proud of it. Fav for the photo and the story
Amazing story. It is wonderful that he wrote the book. I can imagine that there was so much he did not want you to know at the time. He was certainly a trailblazer in his day.
What a fantastic thing your Dad did to set this up. You know we are hikers and although we have never needed mountain rescue yet, I am always immensely grateful to know that help is out there if my need is great enough. Amazing how far a voluntary organisation has come. I applaud them.