Today saw four Bolton MRT members present at our national mountain rescue meeting, held twice a year at its usual venue of Lancashire Constabulary Force Headquarters, Hutton, Preston.

Elected Officers, National, Regional and Team Representatives were present for the mornings varied and multiple Sub Committee meetings with all coming together for the afternoons main Business Meeting.

Attending from our team were our Team Leader Garry Rhodes MBE, for the main meeting as the teams representative, Elaine Gilliland, attending as MPSRO representative to the MREW Training Sub Committee and main meeting, our Equipment Officer (Water) John Fletcher attending to represent the MPSRO on the Water Sub Committee and main meeting, and our Mountain Rescue Trailing Dog Handler Steve Nelson, present representing SARDA (Wales) at the main meeting.

Besides the usual business matters of our national body, our National President Peter Bell presented Peter Howells OBE of Central Beacons MRT with an MREW Certificate honouring his amazing fifty years dedicated service to Mountain Rescue since he first joined mountain rescue in 1963.

During this fifty years service to Central Beacons MRT, and its forerunners Morlais MRT and Merthyr Tydfil Mountain Rescue, Peter Howells OBE has held the post of Team Leader, Deputy Team Leader and Chairman in his team.

Nationally as MREW Assistant Secretary 1989 to 2012, Peter had responsibilities for Courses and our always successful National Conferences.

Still an active member of Central Beacons MRT, Peter is currently Regional Secretary of the South Wales Mountain Rescue Association.

The Bolton MRT membership extends its congratulations to Peter Howells OBE upon achieving this half century milestone of dedicated service to mountain rescue.
Whilst journeying home from the meeting all four of our members who attended responded directly to Incident 102 (See website ‘News’ item)