History of Longtown Mountain Rescue Team

On the 1st of May 1964, Northampton Education Authority opened an outdoor education center at Longtown, a small village on the western edge of Herefordshire, nestling under the Hatteril Ridge on the eastern side of the Black Mountains. The center was sited in an old building which previously been used as an Inn and before that a Court House. Its first Warden was John Van Laun, who after National Service with the British Army, had served for a period with the Seloux Scouts in Rhodesia before training in youth work at Leicester University.

In 1965, the center at Longtown become a Mountain Rescue Post(Post No 57). This was probably due to the advances made to the Mountain Rescue Committee (MRC) by the "Nansen Club" in Hereford. The leader of this was Earnie Davies, a Hereford based teacher who used the Black Mountains and the Brecon Beacons as a training ground for the local schoolboys prior to taking them abroad on expeditions to places like Scandinavia.

The 1964 edition of "Mountain Rescue & Cave Rescue" issued by the MRC, listed two Mountain Rescue posts in South Wales: No 44 at Penwyllt, Swansea Valley and No 57 at the Longtown Youth Adventure Center. There were 3 Rescue Teams listed, The South Wales Cave Rescue Organisation, The Nansen Club and the R.A.F Mountain Rescue Team at R.A.F St Athan near Cardiff. In 1965 John Van Laun decided that as the Longtown Center was now an official Mountain Rescue Post, he should form a local Mountain Rescue Team (MRT) to respond to the incidents that might be directed to the Post. Then as now, Mountain Rescue Teams were made up of volunteers. John invited a number of people, who regularly used the local hills for recreation, to become team members. Some of the first members were:

• Chris Barber, Longtown Outdoor Pursuits Center Staff
• Martyn Riley, Longtown Outdoor Pursuits Center Staff
• P.C Wilkinson, Longtown local policeman
• John Awnott, ICI Fibres, Pontypool
• John Bradley, Monmouth County Council Planning Officer
• Will Jackson, Abergavenny
• Trevor Davies, Doctor, Abergavenny
• Percy Playford, Teacher
• Wilf Davies, Capel-y-ffin
• Bill Gascoine, Lecturer, Ebbw Vale
• Nelson Morton, Craftsman, Steel Works, Panteg
• Mike Eley, Manager, Henry Wiggin, Hereford

By 1965 teams in being were, Longtown, Brecon, Woodlands Outdoor Centre Glasbury, Merthyr Police / Civil Defence which became Morlais. In 1967 the South Wales Mountain Rescue Association was formed, comprising of the above plus Bridgend Scouts. The Longtown Mountain Rescue Team (LMRT) was an informal organisation, holding occasional meetings with some training sessions, and only rarely called upon to give assistance. In the late 1960's, Clive Roberts joined the staff at Longtown Outdoor Pursuits Center and took over the role as Team Leader from the warden, John Van Laun. Clive introduced monthly training sessions of the team, practicing search and evacuation techniques on the hill. Clive left Longtown in November 1971 to become Warden at Dolygaer Outdoor Pursuits Center. Brian Davies joined Longtown Outdoor Pursuits Center staff and took over as Team Leader.

In 1977, SWRA listed 17 incidents of which 4 were attended by LMRT, 9 involved Brecon and 4 each for Morlais and RAF ST Athan and 1 required a RAF Helicopter. LMRT now attracted members from three main areas, Hereford, Abergavenny/Longtown/Pandy and Bristol. The team took possession of a number of portable radios, which added a new dimension to group communications and speed of reaction to changing circumstances in the field. Still using Longtown as a base the team also accumulated specialist first aid equipment and stretchers. In 1979, Brian Davies left the staff of Longtown to become warden at center on the Gower. Adam Salomanson, another Longtown Center member become team leader. Under this new leadership the team was subjected to a much more formal training program and a "members skill list" was introduced. Fundraising become a crucial part of running the team, so as to raise money for a comprehensive range of rescue equipment. Specialist first aid training was introduced using the experience of Brian Cummings, Neurosurgeon at Frenchey Hospital in Bristol, and our first Team Doctor. John Ashton Jones from the Hereford Hospital Casualty Department and Bob Davies, a Paramedic with Bristol Ambulance supported him. The team acquired the status of a Charity and Mike Eley, the only existing founder member become the first Chairman of the newly formed Committee under the terms of the Teams Constitution. The team acquired two vehicles in the early 1980's, which were used as equipment carriers and a Control Vehicle. These vehicles were kept at locations that enabled the team to make a very much quicker response to call outs compared to the time taken when kit had to be collected from the Longtown Center.

During the 1980's, callouts increased from the ten's, through the twenty's to the thirty's each year and the team membership increased to about 40 people, both male and female. During the 80's the team also broke away from the Longtown Center and became a truly mobile response team, with all the equipment stored in the two specialist vehicles. These vehicles were kept at locations that enabled the team to make a much quicker response to call outs compared to the time taken when kit had to be collected from the Longtown Center. Adam Salomanson left in 1990 to take up a position in North Wales and for the first time the team had a Team Leader that was not an employee of the Longtown Center. As the team entered the Millennium, a permanent base became a reality, which would enable the team a greater flexibility in providing training, storage, kit maintenance and a feeling of a true identity. The base located in Abergavenny, was officially opened in October 2001. It provides an essential facility for the team, in that it readily provides rooms for training, storage for essential rescue equipment, battery charging and a garage for the teams Landrover. By the beginning of 2004 the team had raised sufficient funds to purchase a new Control Vehicle which after a refit to meet the requirements of the team became operational in June 2004. To date, the team deals with over 30 call-outs a year and has a steadily increasing membership of over 40 men and women.