Mountain rescue team representatives receive the commendation

Volunteer rescuers in the Peak District have been honoured by Derbyshire’s top policeman for 50 years’ of service to the community.

Chief Constable Mick Creedon said he first encountered team members who worked on a major search ‘for just a few portions of fish and chips’.

Representatives of the area’s seven mountain rescue teams gathered at the Derbyshire police headquarters at Ripley, where a previously unannounced commendation was presented to them for 50 years of providing search and rescue services to the Peak District and beyond.

The seven teams, Buxton, Derby, Edale, Glossop, Kinder, Oldham and Woodhead, are this year collectively celebrating the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Peak District Mountain Rescue Organisation.

Ian Bunting, team leader of Edale MRT was invited to talk to the assembled police officers and civilian staff about the history and work of mountain rescue. He said: “In our early days, there would perhaps be just a few callouts each year, but in 2013, volunteers spent almost 16,000 man hours on callouts, showing how far things have come.

“These days, apart from rescuing climbers, walkers and outdoor enthusiasts, teams can be found searching for vulnerable missing persons, helping stranded motorists or the ambulance services in snow conditions, dealing with flooding or attending any other civil emergencies where our skills can be of use.”

Mr Creedon told the meeting of his first encounter with mountain rescue. “I was working in the Leicestershire force and had never come across them before,” he said, “but they came down to spend several days in a row searching for a missing person and all it cost the force was a few portions of fish and chips”.

The PDMRO was first formed in 1964 after the tragic loss of three young Scouts taking part in a long-distance walk, the Four Inns.

Up to that point, mountain rescue had existed but was quite disjointed. The events of the Four Inns tragedy led to the formalisation of search and rescue services in the region, and within a few years, teams merged or disbanded to leave the seven teams that form make up the organisation today.