Royal Air Force Mountain Rescue Service

 

Introduction

 

With the onset of the second world war Training Command began it's rapid expansion to ensure the supply of aircrew to the front line Squadrons of Fighter Command, Bomber Command and Coastal Command. The Operational Training Units and Conversion Units of the Royal Air Force operated by day and night, and in all weathers, in conditions far removed from those enjoyed by many aircrew whilst undergoing basic training overseas under the auspices of the Commonwealth Air Training Programme.

These very weather conditions when coupled with obsolete aircraft types and inexperienced crews saw no fewer than 673 crashes in the high ground of Lakeland, involving the loss of some 2574 personnel listed within the accident database of the Gilbert J. Rothery accident archive.

At the onset of the war the report of an aircraft loss would see the despatch of a team from the nearest RAF Station under the command of their medical officer. Often totally inexperienced and frequently ill equipped for the task which lay ahead these teams frequently encountered problems of their own in simply reaching the crash site.

As the frequency of air losses increased the response was swift. The ranks were scoured for those with experience of the high ground and of mountaineering and the personnel identified found themselves posted to stations close to the high ground of the United Kingdom.

The result was the birth in 1942, at RAF Millom and RAF Llandwrog, of the Royal Air Force Mountain Rescue Service which celebrates it's diamond jubilee this very year. A small display of the work of the RAFMRS is contained within the RAF Millom Museum and it is hoped to add further pages to this section of the site in the future.

Should visitors require further information at this time please refer to our links pages for contact addresses.

 

The Curator

September 2002

© RAF Millom Museum