Cave and Mountain Rescue in parts of Cumbria, Lancashire and the Yorkshire Dales
Royal Visit for CRO
Submitted by karstmedia on Sat, 29/05/2010 - 08:43.
THE CAVE RESCUE ORGANISATION WELCOMES THE DUKE OF KENT
His Royal Highness The Duke of Kent paid a visit to the Cave Rescue Organisation’s depot in Clapham North Yorkshire on 12th May as part of their 75th anniversary celebrations.
He was welcomed by pupils from Clapham Primary School as he made his way into the headquarters to meet the CRO team and to tour the building, including the new extension that was added last year to update their training, control and storage facilities.
The Duke of Kent was introduced to members of the CRO team plus Dr John Farrer, President of CRO, Frank Royston who at 85 years old is the oldest former member of the organisation and Zoe Ketteridge, who was rescued by the team on Valentine’s Day last year when she sustained head injuries walking on Whernside. He also met James Garth, Worshipful Master of the Wenning Lodge of Freemasons, who was responsible for securing funding from the West Riding Masonic Charities, which, along with a bequest from Jack Myers, was used to pay for the extension.
During the tour of the depot, team members took The Duke through the sequence of a rescue, starting with initial callout by the police, rescue planning and management through to searching and locating the casualty. He was then shown the different types of communication systems, including the Heyphone which allows direct radio communication through rock and Nicola 3, the latest technology which is in its final testing stages. Then the team demonstrated how they work in caves and difficult terrain with regards to medical techniques and their specially designed rescue equipment. A dummy was hauled up the training area in a Bell stretcher to demonstrate the extraction of a casualty in a vertical cave and then he was treated to a demonstration of cave rescue engineering, following which he met two of the team’s search and rescue dogs.
Then the Duke unveiled a plaque commemorating 75 years of the Cave Rescue Organisation. Before he left the depot, he was presented with a book “Race Against Time” which covers the first 50 years of the CRO and three bottles of Rescewe Ale, which has been brewed by Dent Brewery especially to celebrate the 75th anniversary and from which they will make a donation to CRO for each pint and bottle sold. The Duke was also presented with a box of scones baked by Jenny Holmes, wife of team member Roy Holmes.
Jack Pickup, Chairman of the CRO said “It was a great honour to meet the Duke. It was an ideal opportunity for us to show him the techniques and special equipments we have developed over the years. It is not something he will see everyday”.
