Founded in 1964, Buxton Mountain Rescue Team is fifty years old this year and the Golden Anniversary was made official at a black tie dinner on Saturday evening.  The team was officially “Off Call” for twelve hours whilst team members could relax with friends and family.  The last time the team was declared Off Call was for the 25th Anniversary celebrations in 1989.

Ninety members, past and present and some travelling from abroad, celebrated at the Palace Hotel with a formal dinner.  The meal was followed by speeches from the Charity Chairman, Richard Doran and Operational Team Leader, Neil Carruthers.

The Chairman made public “Thank Yous” to the many hundreds of people who have helped the team grow from the very humble beginnings into the modern emergency service it now is. Without the help of so many unseen people the team could not operate and continue to help those in danger in the hills of the Peak District.  The Team Leader then recounted some of the earliest rescues and the land mark developments over the past fifty years.  Neil also made a special vote of thanks to all team members’ partners and family who regularly have to put up with the sudden disruption of their domestic plans.

A special part of the evening was the presentation of a heavy glass paper-weight to Team President, Ian Hurst.  2014 is also the Golden Anniversary of the Peak District Mountain Rescue Organisation and awards had been made to the few people who have been a member of the organisation from the beginning.   Ian was  a National Park Warden at the time of the Four Inns tragedy and was part of the search for the missing scouts.  Ian was a member of the Edale Team from 1963 and became an incident Controller in 1971.  He later joined Buxton M.R.T and became Chairman in 1991.   This P.D.MR.O. award was presented to Ian on behalf of the Peak District region by Charity Chairman, Richard Doran.

Members danced on into the early hours with a few sore heads in the morning.

Chairman, Richard Doran (having a light bulb moment) presents Ian Hurst with the P.D.M.R.O. award.