Cumbria’s Lord Lieutenant has presented members of the Penrith Mountain Rescue Team with long service awards.
Six of the 10 awards were presented personally by Claire Hensman and other members of the team and their families were there to celebrate the occasion.
Team leader Peter King, who has been a Penrith mountain rescue volunteer since he was 18, was one of those receiving an award.
He said: “The 10 members have accumulated over 200 years of service to Penrith mountain rescue team and a few of them also have years of service with COMRU (Cumbria Ore Mines Rescue Unit).
“Their long service is made up of hundreds of incidents, many, many hours of training and practice, meetings, gear packing and unpacking, and the all-important fundraising needed to support the team. It was good that the commitment was recognised in this way with award certificates from the national body, Mountain Rescue England and Wales and it was excellent that Mrs Hensman, in her role as Lord Lieutenant, was able to visit our base and make these presentations.”
The ten members are: Paul Witheridge, 31 years (not present); Peter King (team leader) 25 years; Harry Harrison, 25 years; Trevor Milton, 23 years; Rob Holden, (former team leader) 22 years; Alasdair Brock, 20 years (not present); Matt Nightingale, 18 years; Ian Soulsby, 16 years (not present); Vic Seed, 11 years; Gerry Rusbridge, 11 years (not present).
In addition, flowers were presented to the partners of those receiving awards in recognition of the support that they and their families have given to allow them to provide this voluntary service.
Making the presentations, Ms Hensman said: “Mountain Rescue is a massive commitment and 200 years of service is a lot of mileage.
“These volunteers make themselves available to help others, putting themselves at risk all the time and they have remarkable expertise. Thank you to all of them, and to their families and support networks too.”
David Houldridge, chairman of Penrith Mountain Rescue Team, said: “This level of commitment is fantastic in any organisation, and even more so as everyone is a volunteer.
“The rest of the team are hugely proud and grateful for the efforts by these people.
“The huge experience over hundreds of call-outs and months of training in all conditions ensures the team are able to rescue the public safely and efficiently time and time again.
“It is also important to recognise the support and sacrifices of their partners and families.”
