‘Proud’ members of Northamptonshire Search and Rescue awarded prestigious Kings Coronation medal

Northamptonshire Search and Rescue has attended more than 500 operations since its inception in 2013, including 67 in 2023, and across its lifespan, volunteers have donated more than 12,000 hours on call-out incidents alone.

Now, it has received recognition from the King for their efforts.

The honour serves as a ‘thank you gift’ from the nation to commemorate the Coronation, and is also given to members of the armed forces and frontline emergency service workers.

A spokesman for Northamptonshire Search and Rescue said: “No-one volunteers to get medals, we all simply do it because we want to help the communities that we live in.

"We are proud of the work we do, and knowing we have reunited families and saved lives is a fantastic reward. Receiving this recognition for dedication and service is lovely, and makes the members’ smile a bit wider.”

Volunteers remain on call 24/7, 365 days a year to support blue light services in the search for missing persons, and to aid in the recovery of injured persons from rural locations in lowland Britain.

Teams have now expanded their roles to include search dogs, search drones, search management capabilities, flood and swift water rescue, mountain bike, and canoe and kayak search teams. 17 people have been given the award, from team leaders, to search technicians, and even dog handlers.

The charity is a member of the national organisation Lowland Rescue, which has been active for more than 25 years, formed from the old civil defense units around the country when the cold war began to decline.

The seventeen members receiving this award are as follows:

Neil Balderson – Search Manager

Paul Marlow – Team Leader

Martin Bourne – Team Leader

David McBurnie – Search Manager

Mark Lawson – Search Technician

Neill Luckett – Search Technician

Amy Kingston – Team Leader

Emily Cockerill – Team Leader

Gareth Williams – Team Leader

Ian Horton – Dog Handler

Jenny Kirkland – Search Technician

Linda Wyatt – Operational Support

Nick Strelczuk - Chairman

John Brown – Search Technician

John Frostwick – Search Planner

Kyle Burke – Search Manager

Jon Bromley – Dog Handler