Search & Rescue
Between 2015 and 2018, I devoted a significant part of my time to volunteer search and rescue work, operating at both the county and national level with Surrey Search & Rescue and Lowland Rescue.
I served with Surrey Search & Rescue (SurSAR), one of the 36 teams making up Lowland Rescue, the national body that coordinates specialist volunteer units across England and Wales. SurSAR provides round-the-clock search capability for missing children, vulnerable adults, and those in crisis.
My particular focus was on pioneering the use of drones (RPAS/UAVs) in search and rescue. At the time, this was a new and untested capability. Working with both the police and fellow Lowland Rescue teams, I helped create the UK’s first playbook and operational qualification for drone deployment in search and rescue contexts.
As Head of SARRPAS (Search and Rescue RPAS) within Surrey, and later Director of Air Operations for Lowland Rescue nationally, I coordinated aerial search missions, often in multi-day, multi-agency environments. These missions included:
- Searches for missing children and elderly people.
- Support to the Fire Service during large wildfires and major incidents.
- Post-fire investigation flights.
- Large-scale training exercises alongside police and emergency services.
The work was at times demanding, but it was also pioneering. We were proving out how drones could add speed, safety, and perspective to critical search operations. Many of the principles and standards developed in those years still underpin how UK lowland teams use aerial assets today.
The culmination of this work was the development of the “Use of Drones in Search & Rescue” qualification, accredited by Skills4Justice. This programme set a professional standard for drone use in both Search & Rescue and Fire Service contexts, ensuring safe, consistent, and effective deployment nationwide.