Guernsey Friends of Air Search 

President's Report 2004

During the year that has elapsed since I made my last report to you, the services of the Channel Islands Air Search aircraft have been called upon some twenty-four times.  Slightly up in number on the previous period, this figure does not fully represent the whole picture as it does not for example take into account the duration of time of searches, or the type of search involved.  These have varied from searches for missing or overdue vessels and possible survivors from them, to missing divers, and on land, to missing persons whether they be shore-fishermen or persons whose absence causes the authorities concern for their welfare.  It is comforting to know that some of these searches have resulted in very satisfactory outcomes, in particular the speedy location of the three missing divers off Sark.  These divers were most appreciative of the efforts made by the service and with some of their colleagues from their diving club joined both crew and Friends for one of our Hangar Evenings for interested parties.  They expressed their appreciation to the service for the professional way in which the search was conducted.  Regrettably, not all searches can have such a satisfactory outcome but the fact the service is available around the clock to assist when called upon is a comfort to many, and in particular to those close to persons who are missing. 

The Friends, supported by crew-members, have held nine Hangar Evenings during the year.  We are grateful to those crew members for  giving up their time to impart their special expertise and knowledge on operations to our visitors.  These evenings have been well attended and visitors have included groups ranging from pharmacists to ladies organisations; St. John Ambulance and scouts and guides.  We always welcome interested parties whenever practical. 

The continuing number of calls on the service are a constant reminder of the need for the Friends to maintain their fundraising efforts to enable the service to operate whenever it is needed.  The aircraft has had one of its engines replaced this year at a cost of approximately £25,000 and the other one will need to be replaced within the next six months at a similar amount.  Funds for both of these engines have now been raised but the costs go to highlight the need to raise significant amounts to keep Lion's Pride flying.  Fortunately these engines should be good for the next fifteen years, however there are many other areas where regular maintenance is required and costs can prove to be extremely high.  Sponsorship of searches by local companies does help with the cost of operations but there are numerous other expenses which these do not cover so our efforts need to be maintained. 

Once again the Friends have attended a number of events locally.  The first one of the year being in attendance for Guernsey Airport's New Terminal Open Day where the Friends had a stand inside the terminal.  We were also very fortunate to have what is now a rare opportunity to be able to display the aircraft to the public for which we are most grateful to the management of the airport.  We held in June what is now becoming an annual event and probably our main single fund-raising event of the year, our Open Garden in conjunction with Floral Guernsey who yet again have been very supportive to us.  This year it was held in the lovely garden of John and Ann-Marie Webb and we were honoured by the presence of our patron, His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor and Lady Foley, who toured the garden and joined us for afternoon tea.  Some other 800 visitors including a group of 25 Australian gardeners on a European tour also enjoyed the day during the course of which we raised just over £2650 for funds. 

In addition the Friends had our stand at the Delancey Park Fun Day in July and a number of our helpers braved the elements over the two days of the West Show to man our stand there.  We also attended a Medieval Fayre at Sausmarez Manor in August and more recently the Christmas Charities Fair at Beau Sejour.   Once again we ran our Annual Draw throughout the summer which proved to be another major fund-raising exercise.  

We have received support from Friends on the other islands of the Bailiwick.  Our Sark Representative, Tony Ventress, worked with us to produce a flyer to distribute in the island which appeared to have increased the not inconsiderable amount of support already received from that island and we received a generous donation as part of the proceeds of a Robbie Williams impersonator's concert in Herm.   Additional funds have come in to us in the form of donations, bequests and from the sale of a new Christmas card which has proved to be very popular and of course, not least of all our collecting-boxes. 

We greatly appreciate all the support we have received from local companies and organisations, groups, crew-members and not least of all the members of the Committee of the Guernsey Friends without whose help much of this would not have been possible.  We were sad to say goodbye in June to our Secretary, Julie Twist, who moved to Spain with her family and who had done much along with her husband Bob for Air Search over the years she had been involved with the organisation.  We are also sorry to lose Roger Morgan from the Committee who is stepping down at this time.  I know the Committee will join with me in wishing them all well and thank them for their support in the past. 

During the last financial year, Guernsey Friends have paid over £37,500 to the Trustees and since June another £15,000 which goes some way to show the amount of hard work and effort that has been made by a very small group of dedicated and hard-working supporters. 

We now must look forward to 2005 - a very special year for Channel Islands Air Search as it marks our 25 years of service to the community.  It is perhaps appropriate that 2005 should also be the "SeaGuernsey" and whilst we are not commemorating 200 years of association with the sea, nevertheless the last 25 years of Air Search should not be understated.   Both our Friends across the water in Jersey and the Guernsey Friends will be marking this anniversary in a number of ways which we hope will pay suitable tribute to those few men who originally had the concept of such a service in the early days.  Probably little then did they realise what a professional organisation would evolve over a quarter of a century and what an important role it would have in the overall search and rescue assets of the Channel Islands in years to come.  We will take this opportunity in the months to come to promote the organisation, its aims and achievements throughout all the various media sources and hope that by so doing we will in turn engender a greater knowledge and understanding of what the service does and support for it to enable it to continue its work.  

It only remains for me to thank my colleagues on the Committee for their hard work and the support they have given both to the organisation and to me personally to enable us to achieve what we have done over the past year.  One can always wish to have done more but sometimes one should not be blinkered from seeing the not inconsiderable achievements made by one's efforts.  Let us hope the forthcoming opportunity to raise the profile of Channel Islands Air Search even higher will also result in more practical help in the form of active helpers and thus enabling "The Few" to ease up slightly! 

Thank you all very much.

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The Queen's award for Voluntary Service 2005

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