I have been a Search and Rescue Dog handler for 40 years and am a member of Mountain Rescue Search Dogs in England. I am also a member of the Cave Rescue Organisation since 1977 and am also a member of the Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association, based in Grassington in North Yorkshire.

My Fellowship in 1988 was spent in Australia, researching medical emergencies with the New South Wales Ambulance Service.

On my return to the UK I was tasked as a first-response search dog handler at the Lockerbie Air Disaster, searching for survivors from Pan Am 103 over the Christmas period. I subsequently developed urban search and rescue techniques, using specially trained search dogs to help locate casualties trapped by structural collapse. I currently assist in the training and development of Mountain Rescue Search Dogs throughout the UK.

The Churchill Fellowship allowed me to have a greater understanding of early detection of lost or missing persons in both mountainous and urban settings by the use of specialist search dogs, and the importance of pre-hospital emergency medicine in the field. My interest and commitment in this field has been as an unpaid volunteer on call 24/7 to any part of the UK or abroad.