In 2011, Her Majesty’s Government announced an annual grant to be utilised for team search and rescue equipment purposes, open to all teams within Mountain Rescue England and Wales, our national representative body.
The grant from HMG administered and co-ordinated through our national body, MREW, resulted in each team including the Bolton MRT, being able to purchase SAR equipment through MREW to the approximate value of £2,500.00. Orders by MREW teams were placed in December 2011 for ‘draw down’ in January and early February 2012.

We benefitted greatly from the 2011 / 2012 Grant, reporting such in our website ‘news’ items dated Friday 17th February 2012, detailing the receipt by the team firstly of two PELI RALS 9440 ‘Big head’ Lighting Units, at a total costing of £1,440.00, the second part of the grant was for a quantity of Alloy Screwgate Karabiners, received by the team at a costing of £380.00, please see website ‘news’ item dated Tuesday 21st February 2012, and the third and final part was reported on Wednesday 14th March 2012, when we received two specialist M.I.B.S. (Multi Integrated Body Stretcher) Mk 2 Stretchers, from Rescue and Medical Limited of Brynmawr, Gwent, worth £780.00 in total.

In August 2012), the news was received that Her Majesty’s Government had confirmed that similar grant support was indeed available for 2012 / 2013, and our national body MREW, invited all teams to select an equipment order in the region of £2,500.00 from a comprehensive ‘catalogue’ of search and rescue equipment, that had been put together by our national officers in MREW.

On Thursday 8th November 2012, we were very pleased to announce the receipt by the Bolton MRT of the first part of our equipment order set against this kind government support grant for 2012 / 2013.

We received forty eight latest generation head torch units from LED Lenser which enabled us to personally equip each operational call out list member with a team issue head torch.

The model chosen by the team was the LED Lenser High Performance Line H14 Head Lamp, featuring SLT / Smart Light Technology via a micro controller switch, with an advanced focus system with speed focus function, high end power LED, and hard gold plated contacts.

The value of this first part of our 2012 / 2013 order which was supplied to the team via the Government Grant equipment donation was circa £2,038.00, with LED Lenser very kindly having entered into a discount purchase arrangement with our national body, via this grant, to enable all to benefit from mass purchase arrangements.

On Monday 12th November 2012, we were very pleased to announce the receipt of the second part of our order from the grant, namely six Water Rescue Reach Poles / Single Lifehook Poles, 3.66m / 12ft supplied via Plastica, at a total cost of circa £370.50p. These are now in use by the team in water search and rescue operations.

Today we are pleased to announce the receipt of the third and final part of our Government funded equipment donation for this year, namely a specialist rucksac from Aiguille Alpine Equipment of Staveley, Kendal.

This rucksac will be used to contain one of our many Mountain Rescue Casualty Bags (Essentially a large weatherproof sleeping bag to protect casualties)
In particular it will replace a ‘home made’ container bag, personally made by team member at the time, Klare Twist, (Now Klare Hamar – Santos) way way back in the early 1980s – probably until its imminent replacement, the ‘longest serving’ ‘oldest’ piece of kit we still have in operational use. (It will be retired honourably to our ‘Exhibition wall of old retired team kit’ displayed on the wall of our Ladybridge Hall Base / HQ double bay garage.

The team wishes once again to express its sincere thanks to Her Majesty’s Government for the continuation in 2012 of this direct financial support of mountain rescue in England and Wales, and to our national body, Mountain Rescue England and Wales for co-ordinating the orders and the expenditure associated with this grant.

We would particularly like to thank MREW Officers, Neil Roden, MREW Procurement Officer, Penny Brockman, MREW Treasurer, and Richard Terrell, MREW National Equipment Officer, for their role in the administration and co-ordination of this grant, and their valued help and advice offered to Bolton MRT in enabling us to make our purchases set against the second year of the grant.

Please also see website ‘news’ report dated Monday 12th November 2012 and Thursday 8th November 2012.