A CUMBRIAN mountain rescue team has marked 70 years of service to the county - unveiling a new plaque in Cockermouth to celebrate the group's formation.
Thursday, February 23 2023 marked the 70th anniversary of the formation of Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team.
The team came in to being on a Monday evening in 1953 at the Central Café on Cockermouth Main Street.
Rusty Westmorland, George Fisher and Mike Nixon, members of Keswick MRT at the time, had come to speak to interested mountaineers about the requirement for a new team that would operate in the western valleys of the Lake District.
Following the meeting, the team (the third in the Lakes) was formed primarily to attend callouts in the Lorton, Buttermere, Ennerdale, Wasdale and Eskdale valleys.
Over time there was year-on-year increases in both visitors and callouts within the Lakes.
Subsequently there are now ten teams in Cumbria covering defined areas, along with the Mine Rescue (COMRU) and Search Dogs (LDMRSDA), which cover the whole region.
Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team is made up entirely from volunteers, operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The team has seen some 250 members in its lifetime, with levels of service ranging from a couple to 63 years.
In its 70-year history, the team has attended roughly 2,900 rescues; a majority being individuals who have sustained injuries or become lost on the fells.
But there have been exceptions, including the flooding in 2009 and 2015, severe snowfall events, downed aircraft, a plethora of cragfast sheep, a raven and, on one occasion, a horse stuck in a bog.
The team’s base was completed in 2003, and opened by patrons Eric Robson and Joss Naylor. Since completion it has been without a sign. To commemorate the 70th anniversary, it seemed appropriate to finally install one.
READ MORE: Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team go to training camp in Aviemore
Founding, past and current team members gathered on Thursday as Eric Robson returned to unveil a new sign, visible from the road and carved from Honister slate, marking the team’s founding in 1953.
Current team leader, Andrew McNeil said: "70 years is a lifetime and that’s exactly what you get from this team: a lifetime of call-outs, experiences, friendships, laughs and a feeling of being part of something you just don’t want to leave."
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