Our History

Bolton Mountain Rescue Team (Bolton MRT) was established around 1967 by a group of friends from the Bolton area who enjoyed caving and hill walking and had a shared interest in hill and cave rescue. This led to them becoming associated with groups already providing rescue services.

In 1968, the group decided to establish a rescue team in Bolton to provide services to anyone lost or injured in the surrounding area. To the north of Bolton there are extensive moorland hills which, the group felt, would become increasingly popular for recreation. They were right: the area we now call the West Pennine Moors, where most of Bolton MRT’s call-outs occur, receives very high (and ever-increasing) visitor numbers.

That year, an article was published in Bolton Evening News (now Bolton News) calling upon hillwalkers and cavers who were interested in being a part of a new rescue team to get in touch. Bolton Mountain Rescue Team was subsequently formed. They started using an attic as their first base, and began regular training on Wednesdays. The team started raising money for badly needed equipment. Soon they were able to purchase their first specialist mountain rescue stretcher, and a casualty bag. Radio sets were acquired, and an ex-War Department three-ton Morris truck became the first Bolton MRT vehicle.

In 1971 the team were offered premises in New Overdale. These were ideal: a garage and, above it, a training and meeting space. Subsequently, in [??? DATE] the team moved to a new base in and above garages at the Northwest Ambulances Services HQ, Ladybridge Hall, on Chorley New Road, where they remain to this day.

We gratefully acknowledge an article about the team’s history by founder members Mike Ainscough and Alan Southworth, which has been abridged to create the above.